An Alternate Path
by Surarrin
Summary: [Alternate Reality] A single action as you stare death in the face can have adverse effects. Instead of hate, Naruto grew up with the fear of Konoha. Now watch as he backed by the ninja population of Konoha leads his life ultimately to his final goal.
1. In Which Death Is Common

**Whelp, Created another story. This chapter isn't or rather hasn't been check in anyway, It's hard to as most have said review your own work.**

_Those voices.. They're outside.. Where I must be.._

_ Mewtwo_

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**_Pathetic bugs._**

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Rumbling The Kyuubi let out a roar, the sound echoed over the dense forests as it approached its target. **_Konoha._** Slowly he made his way through the forest crushing the trees on his path to the hive.. Suddenly a small spark of fire struck the Kyuubi singeing some of the beast's fur.

Tilting its head downwards it bared its teeth at the bugs under it. Maliciously it struck its paw against the bug, crushing its lower body under the pad of the Kyuubi's foot. Lifting it's Paw up to its mouth the Kyuubi licked the blood off its paw and continued on towards the hive of the Bugs. Occasionally crushing the soldiers as they fought valiantly to stop it from taking their home.

Confidently Kyuubi continued on its path oblivious to the in comparison weak attacks aimed at him. Slowly a screeching sound filled the air. Roaring in slight pain the Kyuubi scanned the surrounding for the source of the noise. His eyes settled on a blazing blue spark to his right. It sounded like a thousand birds chirping as something tore them apart. Lifting its clawed paw up it slammed it where the boy stood. Instead of the expected feeling of moisture the dry feeling of earth found the paw. Snarling the Kyuubi looked back to his front to where the noise now emanated from. Surprised he saw a small bug charging at him, its hand lit up with a seemingly powerful attack.

But the attack never came into contact, As the bug came within ten meters of striking distance. A translucent red barrier emerged in his path thinking quickly the bug sliced his Chakra enveloped hand against the barrier, tearing a small hole into it before it mended. With the barrier complete the bug was thrown backwards violently sending him crashing through numerous trees.

Unable to see the bug through the thick foliage Kyuubi's ears dropped, he had lost a potential toy. Leaving his stupor as quickly as he entered it Kyuubi continued on his path towards the rest of the Bugs. A mild pain erupted from his paws, Whining he lifted his paw off the ground, only to find a bloodied rock formation under it start to melt away.

As soon as the wound appeared it vanished, but the pain lingered on. Enraged the Kyuubi fanned its tails out against the ground and spun around, destroying everything around it, everything including the bodies of a few unexperienced Chuunin's.

" Aoba! While we distract it go inform Konoha!" A blood soaked Ninja screamed. The person in question was in less of a state, but was hurt all the same. " I won't abandon my squad. " Aoba said as he prepared to fight further.

" This isn't a request this is an order, GO NOW! " and with that the ninja charged at the Kyuubi. Clenching his fist Aoba turned on his foot and began to run towards Konoha, His feet flaring blue as he forced his body to move faster then it ever had before.

His last memory of his Squad was a blood curdling scream. The scream in question came from the ninja who ordered the Aoba to retreat to Konoha. Hanging from the mouth of the Kyuubi he weakly flashed through the hand seals for "**_ Art of Replacement_** " and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The Kyuubi inhaled the smoke and gagged, only to howl in pain as an explosion tore through his mouth as a large bundle of Explosion notes detonated in his mouth. Gargling on the sudden flood of blood coming from his mouth Kyuubi spat the blood out onto the ground, The inside of his mouth glowed red as the flesh stitched itself back together as if nothing had happened, The only evidence of any damage the red stained on his teeth.

Lying in a pool of his own blood and barely alive the wounded ninja gazed up at the sky, pondering the meaning of life and other unanswerable things._ Why are Ninja called Ninja, Why are they not called Supermen. _Pondering the thought for a moment the Ninja never noticed another one of his squad members sailing through the sky screaming, **" I regret nothing!** " as he flew out of view.

Realizing reality again the wounded Ninja staggered to his feet, he couldn't see Kyuubi in front of him or to his side. Slowly he turned around to a crimson pair of slitted eyes. A scream was cut off as Kyuubi's teeth finished their job. The Ninja's tattered remains hung between the Kyuubi's teeth as he continued his march towards Konoha.

* * *

Maintaining the same speed as he had for the last three hours Aoba ran past the gates of Konoha dodging between countless Civilians and braving A Two-for-One clothing deal. Faltering slightly at the clothing Aoba shook his head _There are more important things, **Demon things.**_ With renewed vigore Aoba broke through the Hokage tower's doors ignoring the numerous weapons flying through the air at his subtle arrival.

Sighing tiredly The Yondaime Hokage glared at the papers in front of him in contempt. Out loud he voiced his question, " Who ever thought that being Hokage would mean so much paper work? " Yawning tiredly He began to read over the document the Konoha Council requested he signed.

_. . . . I effective immediately hand all rights of power and responsibility over to the Konohagakure Village council. . . . _

Snorting The Yondaime threw the Paper over his left shoulder discarding it with the countless, Okay exaggerated, with the Thirty other false documents littered throughout the actual work. Glancing out the window to the Hokage Monument He sighed. _Maybe I should have stuck with Jounin rank. I would give anything for something to interrupt this-_

The Yondaimes train of thought was halted as the doors to his office burst open revealing a bloodied and charka exhausted Aoba. Jumping over his desk The Yondaime reached his side in time to catch him from falling to the ground.

" Aoba-san, what happened? Stone ninjas come to avenge their country? The Cloud trying to start a ne-"The Hokage quickly blurted out only to be cut off by Aoba "Kyuubi. He managed to say before unconsciousness claimed him. Shocked The Yondaime accidentally let Aoba slip from his hands and clatter against the floor. A quick curse word answered his error as he quickly jumped to his feet and ran out the doors, only to be greeted with the sight of an assortment of Jounin's and Chuunin's all looking at him anxiously.

Scratching the back of his head the Yondaime laughed shakily trying to find the words to tell them. "So, Er Kyuubi is on his way here, I think. " The effect of the words was immediate not a single sound was heard that is until one of the lesser knowing Chuunin's voiced his thoughts.

"What's a Kyuubi? "

Said Chuunin found himself on the ground, a growing bludge on top of his head. Above him a Purple haired Jounin stood her left eye twitching as she massaged her slightly red knuckles with her hands.

Glancing back up to the Hokage, she spoke. "Your Orders Hokage-sama. " Smiling grimly the Hokage nodded towards her, "You know the drill. " Silence met his statement. Incredulously he looked at each of them. "Defend Konoha from any Threat! " he said, confusion at the disregard of the obvious.

* * *

Without a word more all the Ninja disappeared in a gust of smoke, leaving the Hokage by himself alone. "Kyuubi, this will be fun... I hope. "

Standing upon the top of a large oak tree Arashi glared at the monstrosity in front of him; The Kyuubi in all its demonic glory. Flexing his fingers inwards Arashi began to pour charka from the tenketsus located on his palm, slowly creating soft vortex of charka induced wind above his palm.

_Stage one Complete_

Grinding his teeth together he sent a surge of Chakra through the tenketsus in use super charging the vortex. In record time he pulled the charka together into a perfect sphere, adding additional pulses of Chakra to it as he prepared himself.

_Stage two and three Complete_

By now the Kyuubi had taken notice of Arashi, curiously eyeing the bug. **_Strong for a bug._** He thought as he watched the Bug reign control of the sphere of Energy above his hand. Howling in at the potential challenge Kyuubi lunged forwards at the same time as Arashi.

With His Chakra imbued within his muscles Arashi flew forwards faster then the Kyuubi expected and at the Last Moment he threw the hand containing the Chakra sphere forwards, with the intent of striking Kyuubi down. Once Arashi came within Meters of Kyuubi a flash of red indicated the barrier, but it was shredded by the Chakra and Arashi kept going, the orb aimed at the Kyuubi's skull. But it was not to be, The Kyuubi had already slashed its claw. Chakra met bone, and Arashi's sphere went into overdrive grinding away through to the flesh of Kyuubi resulting in a miniature red shower.

Kicking off from the Kyuubi's Paw Arashi landed on the ground, skidding backwards until he came to an abrupt stop against a tree. Seeing Arashi fall down the Kyuubi resumed its trek towards the village unperturbed by the damage done. Without wasting time Arashi charged at the Kyuubi again, cocking his Sphere holding arm. Once again he burst through the Barrier surrounding The Kyuubi, but this time he wasn't aimed head on, Aiming for Kyuubi's right ankle Arashi thrust his hand forward echoing '_Engage! 'From_ the sphere of Chakra burst a skewering lance. The lance pierced through Kyuubi's flesh grinding away the bone along with the sinewy muscles.

_Stage four Success_

Dragging the lance upwards Arashi tore it from The Kyuubi's ankle and jumped away. Not a moment to soon, The Kyuubi fell to the ground. Temporarily wounded, but it didn't last long. As soon as Kyuubi collapsed dozens upon Dozens of Konoha Ninjas revealed themselves sending a barrage of their strongest attacks against the Kyuubi. Streams of flames erupted from all directions slamming into the barrier around the Kyuubi. As more and more attacks pressed against the Barrier it collapsed and the attacks burst through into Kyuubi. Roars of victory mixed with explosions echoed throughout the landscape.

As the smoke started to clear the ninjas looked on in dread. The first part visible of the Kyuubi was a bloodied patch of Fur. Kyuubi lied on the ground, covered in wounds of all magnitudes. A single ninja approached the Kyuubi slowly, making barely a sound. And then a flash of red struck him, the barrier around Kyuubi faded into view. The same red glow formed around Kyuubi's body and they could only watch in morbid fascination as Kyuubi's wounds vanished.

Arashi looked on in dismay.

_We can't kill it using conventional means. If we can't kill it what can we do? If the combined might of Konoha can't even stop it, then what stands a chance? A Kamikaze technique may work. But it would take everyone to have enough power to kill it, and the seals… Wait, Seals, Seal. That's It I we can seal it. In what? The only thing which could withstand such a power and the mind of a demon of this calibre is a living entity, No one would accept this. Nor could they handle it. Their Chakra system would be too developed. A Child. It is the only chance._

Emotionlessly Arashi gave the call to retreat.

* * *

_Shiki Fuujin, Hakke no Fuujin Shiki and Shisho Fuujin. The only chance..._

Glaring down at the scroll in his hands The Yondaime knew there was no other way. He could not ask anyone else to do this. He as the Hokage was the only person who had to do this.

"For the life of my Village, I give my soul. " mused Arashi. _How poetic, I hate poetry. _Looking up to the door Arashi took note of The Sandaime Hokage. Inclining his head towards His predecessor he turned his eyes back to the scroll in front of him.

"Sarutobi-sama, Why are you here? "

Sarutobi stared long and hard at Arashi, wondering how to say it. Growling slightly Arashi glared up at Sarutobi, His eyes tinged a blood stained red. "She died " Arashi froze, his eyes widen in confusion. " Who died? "

Sarutobi looked away from Arashi, placing his gaze past the window on the Hokage Monument. "She died after giving birth to a boy, His name is Naruto. " Standing up suddenly Arashi glared at Sarutobi. "That isn't funny, Sarutobi. Where is she? "

Sarutobi turned back to Arashi, his face marred with lines of age. He looked sympathetically to him, slowly walking towards him. "Arashi-kun I am sorry. " he spoke softly, placing his hand upon the Yondaimes shoulder.

_Child who killed his mother.. Demon spawn, All those ninjas, dead, still dying, You killed your mother, You deserve this fate Naruto, You are the only one I will give it to, Because you have killed her._

" I have a Plan to defeat the Kyuubi. " Arashi spoke softly. Sarutobi who stood shocked before Arashi remained that way for a moment before breaking out into a smile.

" Wonderful! I made the perfect choice when I chose you. How do you plan to defeat it?"

" **_Shiki Fuujin_**. " Sarutobi's smile immediately faltered and turned into a frown. " There must be another way." he said worriedly. " It may not even hold Kyuubi. "

" That's where you are wrong. In conjunction with **_Hakke no Fuujin Shiki_** (Eight trigram sealing Style) and **_Shisho Fuujin_** ( Four Symbols Seal ) it will not implode. But will protect the vessel until it dies, in which case it will take the Kyuubi with it. " Smirking despite himself Arashi placed his hands on Sarutobi's shoulders.

" It won't escape me. Bring me Naruto. "

Grinding his teeth together Sarutobi glared at Arashi in anger. " You would give her child such a life? " Grimly Arashi nodded. " He is the only person I trust this burden with. " _And the only one I would wish it upon_ Arashi continued in his mind. " How can I ask another for their child to bear a demon? "

" Very well, I will prepare Naruto outside the battle field. And await your summoning of Gamabunta. " And with that Sarutobi left the young Yondaime to his thoughts.

_My vengeance._

* * *

The Full moon shone down on the bloodied battle field. Countless ninjas lay scattered surrounding the monstrous Kyuubi. " Hold it until the Fourth arrives! " " Don't let it get any closer to the village!" screamed two ninjas as they attacked the Kyuubi' their voices all but lost to their fellow fighters. Below the Kyuubi countless bloodied ninja continued to attack it, unwilling to allow it to take their homes.

In the Distance a rumbling could be heard and out of the darkness appeared a Giant toad as large as the Kyuubi. " The Fourth is here! " yelled a few Ninja as they redoubled their effort in attacking the beast.

In a glade not to far away from the battle a blond haired baby lay naked surrounded by candles, Upon it's stomach in drying black ink a Seal was drawn, An inactivated seal. But, that was soon to change. Sitting beside the baby The Third Hokage sat protecting the baby encase of Kyuubi deciding to attack, However remote the possibility it was still that, And he could not allow chance.

_Arashi I hope you know what you are doing._

Gazing down at the sleeping form of Naruto Sarutobi smiled gently, brushing his thumb against the fringe of the baby's sun-kissed hair. " Naruto-kun the future holds shadows for you, we may shine a light through those shadows sooner then anyone would like. " he said as he gazed towards The Yondaime.

The Yondaime in question was glaring hatefully at the Kyuubi. _Naruto I forgive you for taking your mothers life. But can you forgive me for tying your soul together with a beast whose crimes it shall pay for with its own soul._

With the ease of practice on his side The Yondaime flashed through the seals

_Hebi , The **Serpent**._

_Osusu-buta, The **Boar**._

_O-hitsuji, The **Ram**._

_Usagi, The **Rabbit**._

_Inu, The **Dog**._

_Nezumi, The **Rat**._

_Tori, The **Bird**._

_Uma, The **Horse**._

_Hebi, The **Snake**._

Within the split second they were used, each of the hand-seals regulated part of the charka in preparation. And then it took effect, a Blinding white light engulfed the battlefield. And from behind Arashi, The Yondaime Hokage a spectral demon passed his hand through the Yondaimes body, reaching towards Kyuubi's neck. Without being able to see the hand approaching him, Kyuubi just stood their preparing to attack, and then The Shinigami struck, its fingers entangled around the Kyuubi's neck, taking hold of its charka and then it began dragging its soul out.

Now realising what was happening the beast began to struggle, it's struggles however were not unnoticed by The Yondaime, With the last of his energy he ran through another set of hand seals; **_Ram, Boar, Dragon, Tiger, Dog, Ram_**. On the Ram signal he thrust his hands towards Kyuubi targeting its mind. _Please work._

Instead of the desired effect from the created Jutsu, Kyuubi's Chakra was separated from its mind leaving its mind in its body whilst its soul and energy was dragged from it, Leaving it powerless to the hordes of Ninja surrounding it. Seizing the advantage all the Ninja attacks the Kyuubi, and with no more means to defend itself or attack it was slaughtered, Blow after blow struck its body and instead of the previous regeneration, the wounds split open, spilling blood onto the earth and tainting it red.

Smiling weakly Arashi fell forwards on top of Gamabunta, falling down in front of Gamabunta, Quickly thinking the giant toad lashed his tongue around Arashi's body, gently lowering him to the ground. As Arashi touched the ground a large number of Ninjas surrounded him, Calling for a medical ninja. Slowly The Sandaime passed through the crowd holding a bundle of clothing in-between his arms, the contents only visible feature was a blond tuff of hair.

Stopping by the late Yondaime Hokage, Arashi Kazama The Hokage turned around, gazing to the surrounding ninjas.

" The Yondaime Hokage has passed on, His ultimate sacrifice for the village was his life, he used a Forbidden Sealing technique to seal the Kyuubi's Soul and Chakra within a living Vessel. As you can see, there is a child within my arms. He is the Hero of Konoha. "

The ninja silently processed the information before individually nodding. Soon all of the crowd dispersed and begun the search for people still alive on the battle field. All but one Ninja had left. " Kakashi , do you need something? "

From his only visible eye Sarutobi could see the slight uncertainty in his mind. " Who is the vessel?" Sarutobi smiled at Kakashi and showed the face of Naruto to him. " Naruto.. Naruto Uzumaki " Kakashi bowed in respect before leaving to join the search for the still living.

* * *

Sarutobi stood in front of a large crowd of villagers, The entirety of Konoha's civilian population to be exact. Next to him in a small basket laid Naruto Uzumaki, The saviour of Konoha in the eyes of The Ninja. In the eyes of the Villagers he was unknown, But that was about to change. Sarutobi in the short sleep had been reinstated as Hokage and thus had to inform Konoha of the circumstances surrounding the Yondaimes death.

Stepping forwards to the edge of the platform The Sandaime cleared his throat, the effect was instant, the whispering crowds immediately hushed and waited for the Hokage to speak. " Last night the village suffered a terrible lost countless shinobi died defending Konoha from the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The Kyuubi was a Nine-tailed fox, fabled to be the strongest of the demons residing on our plain of existence. The Yondaime last night used a Forbidden sealing technique to tear the soul and Chakra of the Kyuubi from its body, and by result ended with its death."

A roar of applause erupted at the mention of the death of the Kyuubi. _If only I could leave it at that._ The Hokage thought wistfully. Raising his hand , the crowd once again fell silent only to break out in a few scattered whispers. " The Chakra and Soul of the Kyuubi had to be sealed away. An inanimate object would never have been able to hold the immense energy of the Kyuubi, So the Yondaime sealed it into a child." Waving his hand towards the basket next to him he continued " Uzumaki Naruto, for the sake of the village is holding back the charka of the demon, Without it the Kyuubi will never be able resurrect itself."

The few whispers beforehand had stopped, and dead silence greeted the words of the Hokage. From the crowd a male yelled out " We should Kill it encase it becomes another Kyuubi! " spurred from the outburst more of the villagers agreed and called for Naruto's demise. Sarutobi frowned at his people._ Are they really this unbelieving?_ " Naruto is not a threat to Konoha, Or do you doubt the work of the Yondaime? " Cries of indignity met his statement turned question.

Sighing haggardly The Third looked sadly to the villagers. " Since it seems there is no way I can change your view on the matter I am forced to create and enforce a new law. From this day forth any mention of the Fourth's death or Naruto Uzumaki's circumstances will be dealt with swiftly and harshly. Any person found breaking this law directly will be punished by death. "

Cries of outrage met this proclamation. But no one objected no matter how much they feared Naruto, They feared death more.

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**And thats the end of the first chapter, let me know what you think or be lazy like i normally am and give some weird offhand comment that has no use at all. XD**


	2. AnbuChan!

**They say it's always darkest before sunrise, but does that also means it's brightest before sunset? I find it brightest in the middle of the day, and the sun doesn't set until around 3:00 AM. And they call it Midnight for a reason.**

**I need to focus on one thing at a time, I started this in the morning I mowed the lawn, I cooked dinner, I watched TV, I talked on Teenspot, And only now twelve hours later am I finished.**

**_In the time it takes you to say I love you, They've already doubted your words, Never leave a moment for them to doubt you._**

_**J.K Phillips**_

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_**Five years after Incident**_

Sliding his eyes open Uzumaki Naruto's first sight of the day was the pale green of his apartment. Staring up at the ceiling his mind slowly adapted to being in use again. _More sleep…_ Yawning softly he rolled over intent of lying on his stomach and falling back to sleep. Sadly for his purpose he rolled off the bed and onto the hard wood floor. "OWW! "Echoed through the complex as Naruto's head hit the floor.

Mumbling "Stupid floor. "Under his breath he straightened up and glared at the floor. Before tilting his head upwards arrogantly and walking towards the Dining table in the middle of the room. Glancing towards the fridge Naruto saw a note. His left eye twitched. _I can't read his writing. HE KNOWS THAT!_ Grasping hold of the fridges handle Naruto used his weight to pull the suctioned fridge door away from the storage unit, He was rewarded with a blast of cool air against his skin. Shivering slightly Naruto reached into the fridge taking hold and removing a carton of milk. Holding it with both hands he held it up and pushed it onto the table. Turning back to the fridge he closed it with a small kick to the base of the door.

Going to the cupboard he retrieved from the lowest shelves a bowl and a packet of cereal. Glancing at the Emblazoned words on the front of the box he read,

**Kunai puffs!**

_**A Ninja approved Kunai in every box!**_

_**Made with real chocolate!**_

_**Warning! May contain traces of nuts.**_

Naruto of course couldn't read it, but the pictures on the front gave him all the information he needed. _Mmm… chocolate._ He tore the top of the box open and quickly pushed his little hand in, grabbing a bunch of chocolate coated wheat kunai's. Bringing it to his mouth he pushed the handful in, munching on it happily before turning back to the table and pushing the Bowl and Box on top of it.

Sliding between one of the chairs and the table Naruto leaned back against the base of the chair, grasping the seat and pulling himself up on top of it. Somehow with skill everyone possessed he rocked his body back and forward, bringing the chair closer to the edge of the table. Content with the distance between himself and the table Naruto took hold of the box of cereal and poured it into up to the brim of the bowl. Placing the box to the side Naruto grasped the milk carton with both hands, slowly pouring the dairy product over the brown miniature kunai's.

The only evidence there was anything but Chocolate in the bowl was the slight white glisten a few of them had on the top of the bowl. Reaching in Naruto grabbed another hand full of the kunai's and brought them to his mouth, Just as he was about to pour them in a Rap-a-tap-tap came from the door. **Splat! Crunch!** Naruto's aim went off, instead of reaching his desired target the handful of milk saturated chocolate wheat splattered on his upper lip. As the chocolate shapes slid off his face he glared at the door screaming. "WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA? "As he dug into the box sliding out a metallic object. Hiding it in his sleeve Naruto crept towards the door and hid beside it.

Turning the handle he opened the door and in-walked a black and white clad Anbu. On his face a white porcelain mask covered his facial features, it depicted a Tigers face, painted in orange and black. As fast as he could Naruto struck forth, grasping the Metallic kunai in his hands he went to plunge it into The Anbu's Thigh.

But it never made it, The Anbu had caught the Kunai between his finger tips an inch away from contact. He paused for a moment and then. **_Snap_** the Kunai broke in two and the blade of the kunai fell to the ground, clattering instead of clanging. Looking down at it Naruto was shocked to see the dark blue inside of the Kunai, identifying it as plastic.

" Cheap rip-off.. " Grumbled Naruto as he nervously glanced up at the Anbu who was now staring down at him. Reaching to the back of his head Naruto dug his fingers into his scalp, scratching the back of his head as he laughs awkwardly.

" Naruto-kun , the care package is outside. " The Anbu motioned behind him to a large snack of food stacked and bounds together. Naruto smiled wickedly as he zipped past the Anbu and tore into the package searching for a certain package.

Naruto thrust his fist up into the air, within it he held a bar of chocolate. Turning around and facing the Anbu member he asked, " Want some? " Holding a now torn open bar of chocolate out for him to take. Smiling under his mask the Anbu leaned down and broke a small piece of the chocolate off and snuck it under his mask quickly devouring it.

Remembering his mission the Anbu quickly took hold of the torn package and brought it inside of the house, placing it on top of the table Naruto had been at few moments before. Naruto followed behind him, in his arms the few packages he had thrown out of the main package in search of the chocolate.

" Naruto-kun I am to Escort you to the Hokage tower. " The Anbu said as he started to walk to the door of the apartment. " WAIT! " yelled Naruto. " I still have to get dressed! " True to his word Naruto was clad in light blue pyjamas riddled with penguins.

" You have three minutes. " The Anbu said offhandedly as he leaned against the door frame. After the few seconds it took Naruto to process the words he quickly darted to his closet to get dressed.

* * *

Walking towards the Hokage tower Naruto held the Anbu's hand tugging on it occasionally and pointing out things in the crowds and asking what they were. One of the harder questions to answer for the Anbu was a couple kissing in the shadows of an Alley, tearing at each others clothing. The Anbu grasped Naruto by the shoulder and dragged him on telling him " You'll find out when you are older. " Pouting Naruto turned back and kept walking. Looking around him he tried to ignore the stares of fear directed at him. _Why do they look at me like that?_ He thought despairingly. _Is it because I'm with Anbu-Chan?_ Looking up Naruto's thoughts switched quickly in front of him loomed the Hokage tower, Craning his head backwards he tried to see the top, but the blinding rays of the sun struck his eyes. Covering his eyes quickly from the sun he watched The Anbu member open up the door to allow him in.

Entering the Lobby of the Hokage tower Naruto looked around to see various ninja sitting and standing around the room. As a few glanced to the door Naruto smiled and waved at them, they in return nodded to him, some others though waved slightly.

" Naruto-kun"

Glancing to the Anbu member who was now by the stair case Naruto quickly waved again before running after him as he ascended the stairs. Puffing slightly as he reached the top Naruto clung to the Anbu member's leg holding himself steady. Letting go Naruto looked around and saw a Desk with a woman behind it.

Walking behind the desk Naruto smiled up at her showing his sparkling teeth. " Hi you're pretty! " he said boldly, the women in question had not noticed him until he spoke. Now looking at him she was frozen in fear.

_It-It's him! The boy!_

Naruto looked concernedly at the fearful woman, Frowning slightly he moved away and mumbled " I'm sorry. " to her before going back to the Anbu and waiting. The Anbu reached down and ruffled Naruto's hair lightly to which Naruto shook his head and smiled.

Not much time had passed and the doors of the Hokages office opened up and out stepped Another Anbu member, The only defining feature Naruto could see was the mask on his face, A Wolf styled one and the large tuff of grey hair protruding out up out of his head.

Pausing The Anbu member looked towards his Co-worker and nodded. Tilting his head down he looked Naruto in the eyes and smiled, although it was hidden by the mask. " Hello Naruto-san. " he said lazily. Naruto smiled brightly and began to say " Hello Anbu-cha-. " But was cut off by the Hokage calling his name. " Naruto, Come inside please. " The Hokage sat at his desk, his fingers folded together in front of his face.

Waving good bye to both of the Anbu Naruto entered the Hokages office and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the Hokages desk. The Hokage stared into Naruto's eyes for a minute and only stopped when Naruto started squirming and yelled " STOP IT OLD MAN! ".

The Sandaime nodded slightly wondering how to phrase his words "Naruto what do you want to do when you get older? " Naruto scrunched his face up in thought as he pondered what he wanted to do.

" Maybe.. I want to be like Anbu-Chan...They're nice to me. " Naruto nodded to what he said in affirmation. " Yup, I want to be like Anbu-Chan! "

_He wants to be a gril?.No He wants to be an Anbu. I can live with that._

" Naruto, how would you like to go to the Ninja Academy? " Naruto stared at the Sandaime shocked. _Ninja Academy, Like the Anbu-Chan went to?_ " Like Anbu-Chan? " Smiling at the name for the Anbu quad members The Hokage nodded. "Is that a yes to Ninja Academy? " Naruto bobbed his head up and down quickly before abruptly stopping as he got dizzy.

" The Ninja academy lasted for six years, you will be expected to go there every weekday, In other words not on weekend. The classes like normal school go from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon. You will be lear-" " Yeah yeah I know Old man. They teach will teach me how to be cool like Anbu-Chan! " Sighing haggardly the Hokage nodded not bothering to correct Naruto. _He can find out for himself._

" Your first class starts Tomorrow morning. " The Hokage said clearly. Naruto nodded enthusiastically once again before hopping off his chair and walking out of the room. Just as Naruto was about to walk out of the room the Sandaime spoke up again " Naruto, try not to be late. " But Naruto just walked out.

The Anbu member escorting him had already started walking down the stairs. " WAIT FOR ME! " he yelled as he started to run towards the stairs. Just as he came to the staircase he turned around and Waved to the secretary quickly saying " Good Bye Miss! " and turned around quickly descending the stairs.

_How can I fear..That?_

_

* * *

_

As the streams of sunlight filtered through the curtain beside Naruto's bed the heat met his skin. As the discomfort continued to increase Naruto became unsettled, rolling around on his bed. For the second time in two days Naruto met the floor. But this time waking to the grains of the floor boards.

After completing his normal morning rituals Naruto stepped outside of his apartment and pulled the door closed. Just as he turned around he froze. _Where is the Academy?_ Eyes wide in shock Naruto clenched his fist and inhaled a large portion of air.

" **_ANBU-CHAN! " _**yelled Naruto as loud as his voice box could. In an Instant a black blur smashed into the ground next to him creating a small dust cloud around it. Accidentally inhaling the dust Naruto began to cough. Waving his hand in front of him he cleared the dust away. In front of him slowly revealed by the dust was The Grey haired Anbu he had met the day before at the Hokage tower.

" Naruto…Why did you call for an Anbu? " Through the mask covering his face Naruto could see slightly narrowed eyes. He blinked once, he blinked twice, and He blinked a third time and then scratched the back of his head, laughing slightly. " Sorry, But where is the Ninja academy? " The Silver haired Anbu sighed as he nodded in understanding. Grasping Naruto's shoulder he led him into the street and looked around to check if anyone was looking, noting that few people were even awake yet Kakashi flashed through a set of hand seals **_Rat, Horse, Ram, and Horse. _**He mumbled under his breath **_Trivial Release : Broken earth replacement._** And slammed both of his hands against the ground.

Under his hands the ground took on the same shape as the broken concrete he had landed on. The place where he HAD landed on seemed good as new. Or at least as good as the pavement it was made from was. Motioning for Naruto to follow him. Staring in amazement at the broken cement Naruto only nodded.

The Anbu member chuckled under his breath as he began to walk. _Perhaps a quick lecture.._

" Naruto, you can't just call Anbu for your every day needs, we are a special squad meant for High rank and dangerous missions, not to guide children around the village. " Naruto looked down at the ground frowning. " That's what Genin are for. " Naruto stumbled over his feet but caught himself before he fell. " Genin? What are they?" _..Gah._ Kakashi sighed.

" Naruto pay attention. In the Ninja world there are rankings, the lowest rank is Genin, They take care of your every day tasks, Like Washing dogs, cleaning houses. Missions like that which require no combat experience." _I never want to be that rank._ " Chuunin, A rank up, They handle Missions that may involve bandits or low level ninja. They make up the most of Konoha's ninja forces." _I like the sound of that. _" Jounin, they handle dangerous missions like Assassinations and important people's protection. " _Even better!_ " Special Jounin, They specialise in certain areas, Like Morino Ibiki, He is talented in Torture and Interrogation. " _Torture? What's that?_ "Hunter-nin, they deal with Missing-nins. " _Missing-nin?_

As if answering Naruto's question the Anbu member continued "Missing-nin's are ninja that for whatever reason have abandoned their village. They are hunted down by Hunter-nin so no other village can take our secrets." _They sound like bad men._ " Anbu, Which is what I am, we handle extremely dangerous assassinations and Missing-nin's which the ranks below would be easily killed in. " _I want to be an Anbu.. _" Kage is the highest ranking a ninja can get. A Kage is the leader of the hidden village, there are five Kages, and they oversee the villages and take the highest risk missions that even we Anbu would have trouble dealing with. The Five Kages are ; Hokage, That's Our Kage, Kazekage, That's the Sands Kage, Tsukikage, That's the Stones Kage. Raikage, that's the clouds Kage, and the Mizukage, The leader of the mist. They also deal with the paperwork, but it isn't in the job description. " The Anbu chuckled under his breath at his last comment.

Naruto Grimaced. _I don't want to be a Kage._ Out-loud he exclaimed " I want to be an Anbu, or a Jounin they sound fun! " The Anbu laughed out loud, Looking up he realised they had walked to the Academy already. " We're hear, There is one more rank of Ninja's but it isn't important, remind me to tell you next time Naruto. "

" Next time? YOU MEAN YOU'LL WALK WITH ME AGAIN? " Naruto exclaimed loudly and clung flung himself at the Anbu, hugging him. _Uh oh.._ Thought the Anbu. " Err, No but I will see you again hopefully. " Naruto pouted slightly and let the Anbu go. Just as Naruto was about to enter the building " Naruto wait.." Naruto stopped and looked to the Anbu hopefully. " Do you remember how to get here? "

Naruto twitched and screamed " YES I DO! " before running into the building.

The Anbu blinked before he jumped seemingly phasing out of view at the speed he moved.

* * *

Holding up a slit of paper Naruto read **_Room 5_** looking up at the plaque on top of the door Naruto grasped the shudder and pulled it open. Instantly a roar of sound washed over him. In front of him a room full of kids his age were yelling and fighting. In front of the room behind a desk sat a man in a green vest, his brown hair hung back in a weird pony-tail.

Naruto approached him cautiously eh stood in front of the desk waiting for the teacher to look up but he didn't, So Naruto did the only thing he could think of, he poked the man. As soon as Naruto touched him the man snapped.

" **SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!** "

Immediately the room fell silent all of the children eyeing their teacher fearfully. The man was now standing up glaring at everyone in the room. As his eyes met Naruto's a sense of shock hit him. Shifting on his feet Naruto started to worry about the teacher staring at him.

_It's him._

" Excuse me is this.. The first grade class room? " Naruto spoke unsurely. The teacher nodded once before shaking out of his stupor. " And you are? " _Uzumaki Naruto_ " Uzumaki Naruto" Naruto said unsurely. " I'm joining this class. " The teacher nodded again before speaking, " My name is Umino Iruka, and you are to refer to me as Umino-sensei or Iruka-sensei. Take a seat anywhere you want. " Bowing forwards slightly Naruto looked back at the rows of seats. Everywhere was taken, except.. Half way up on the right side of the classroom there was a single boy by himself on the row.

Naruto looked at the boy for a moment longer before deciding and walking to him. Sliding between the table and bench row he sat down leaving a small distance between them both.

The boy had black hair, in yet another weird style. _I wonder if all ninjas have weird hair_ The boy in question stared impassively at the board waiting for the lesson to begin, he wore a dark blue shirt with a slightly high collar and white three quarter shorts. The boy had his head up and was glaring at him is suspicion. Smiling Naruto introduced himself. The black haired boy just intensified his glare and then faced the front, softly saying. " Uchiha, Sasuke. "

Naruto nodded smiling and switched his attention back to the front of the room to Iruka. Iruka was currently lecturing them all on the topics they would be studying over the next six years. Iruka started to afterwards take the roll. Realising he would be the last person to be called, Naruto took his time to look around the room.

An extremely large, or at least for his age boy sat in the middle row Naruto stifled a giggle as he noticed the twin spirals on the boys cheeks , they were a dark red but were very thin, he could barely see them. Wrapped around his neck as a small scarf and he wore a light green t-shirt with brown shorts.

Next to him was a boy a third his size. He wore a simple jacket and black shorts. The remarkable thing about him though was his messy hair, it draped in spikes all around his head. His head was against the desk, if Naruto didn't know better he would say he was asleep, But how could anyone sleep in this noise?

A row up was a scruffy looking boy and on his cheeks were two vertical slashes _Weird_ without warning a small furry thing popped out from his grey jumper. The boy smiled and petted its head before laughing " Tickles.. Akamaru! " _Akamaru is its name?_

Beside him was a pale girl. She was looking at him, His blue eyes met her white eyes. Naruto stared at her in semi-shock and didn't notice the blush on her cheeks as he continued to do so intensify. Her hair was dark lavender. She wore a long cream jacket hiding her body. Blinking twice Naruto quickly looked away at the same time as her, his cheeks slightly red at being caught. _She probably thinks I am a freak.._

Next to her a brown haired boy sat silently gazing at Iruka, a pair of circular sun-glasses sat on the tip of his nose, hiding the pupils from view. Like Sasuke near Naruto the boy had a high collar, but it was even higher then Sasukes, Naruto could not see anything below his ears. Even his mouth was covered.

Two rows down sat a pair of gossiping girls one of them had soft pink hair down to her shoulders. Naruto stared at her in shock _Pink..hair?_ He quickly shook himself out of the state and took note of her matching pink dress. **_Shudder_**

The girl next to her however had a long pony-tail of pale blond hair, it perfectly complimented her eyes. She was wearing a dark purple dress it matched her perfectly. The only thing wrong with her Naruto figured was that she was screaming loudly about her hair getting messed up. _It looks fine to me._

" Uzumaki! Pay attention! " Naruto startle quickly looked back to his teacher, Iruka was staring at him angrily and continued to do so for a moment more before turning back to the class in general.

" As I was saying, this year we will be learning about the.." Naruto tuned him out and began to day-dream about what he would do when he became an Anbu member._ Saving the village by day, Catching bad guys by night, it's Anbu Naruto!_

" UZUMAKI NARUTO! " Naruto jumped in his seat in fright before cursing silently under his breath. He looked up to see Iruka standing over him. In the background he could hear a few girls giggling, but he paid them No-attention. " Iruka-sensei? " Iruka's left eye twitched, three times.

" Since you know all about ninjas already Naruto why not tell us all about the various ranks of ninjas?"

Naruto's face broke out into a large smile as he began to recite off memory The Anbu-Chan's words as he walked him to school.

* * *

" And then he said something something broken floor fix or something and the ground was as good as new!" Naruto exclaimed to Sasuke as they walked out the classroom, despite being cold at first over the six hour class Sasuke had broken down slightly and showed Naruto a smile. Turning back to see everyone else off Naruto was surprised to see a large bunch of his new friends parents staring at him in slight fear, only to be told by their parents **_" Him? He's just a class mate, he came late today! "_** The parents quickly grabbed their child's hands and pulled them away from the school. Naruto strained his ears and caught a brief sentence, _Never..Him..Again_ Frowning Naruto turned to Sasuke and scratched the back of his head, laughing slightly.

Sasuke just looked at him weirdly and waved good bye heading off in the direction of his house. Glancing around Naruto saw all buy a single person had left. _Hinata_ thought Naruto as he saw the white eyes of the girl he had seen in the class. Walking over to her hesitantly he saw a slight blush on her cheeks.

" Hey Hinata! " he called out loudly. The girl in question jumped in shock. " G-good a-aftern-noon, N-naruto-san.. " she replied, bowing forwards slightly. Naruto for the umpteenth time that day scratched the back of his head laughing.

" Why are you still here?" asked Naruto curiously, Hinata smiled weakly. " W-waiting for m-my f-father. " she stuttered. Naruto nodded before looking over Hinata's shoulder shocked.

Behind them proudly stood a man dressed in cream robes. _Cool_ thought Naruto as he looked at his face, brown hair draped over the back of his shoulders, cascading down his back, turning his eyes further up Naruto's eyes met the same whites as Hinata's. _Her Father._ Pointing behind Hinata Naruto blurted out " Is that your father? "

Hinata spun around to face behind her and she smiled. " Father! " she ran towards him with her arms spread out, He kneeled down and held his arms out for her, collecting her as she threw her arms around his neck. Releasing each other Hinata turned around to call Naruto, but to her surprise he had already started to walk away.

" Naruto! " she called out. Stopping, Naruto turned around Naruto looked at her confused. " Hinata? " " See…you tomorrow…" Naruto smiled then nodded. " See you tomorrow!" he called out, waving a few times before turning around again and walking into the streets of Konoha, back to his house.

Had he stayed a little longer he would have caught a bit of the conversation between Hinata and her Father.

" What is his last name? "

" Uzumaki, father. "

" I see. "

* * *

As Naruto turned the corner to his block a surprising sight greeted him. " Old man! " he called out and waved to the Sandaime. Running towards him. As soon as Naruto reached him he tugged on the Sandaimes sleeve and began to tell him about his day. Smiling the Sandaime looked down at Naruto . " Tell me about it when we get inside. " he motioned for the door to Naruto's apartment.

Naruto quickly grasped the handle and swung the door open, motioning for The Hokage to enter. Once inside they both sat down at the table and Naruto began to tell of all the things he did that day.

Gradually through the course of listening the Sandaime tuned out the unimportant bits that only five years olds would pay attention to. " His name is Sasuke! He's nice once you get to know him. " Naruto prattled on. _Sasuke? Uchiha?_ " Naruto-kun, did you say Sasuke, as in Sasuke Uchiha? " Naruto graced him with an annoyed look.

" Yeah, yeah! Uchiha Sasuke, He's really nice once you get to know him, he told me about him, he likes fire which is weird, But he said his father taught him a fire technique, But then he got all silent for most of the lesson and wouldn't talk to me until the end when we got out of class! " Naruto stopped as he ran out of breath.

_Perhaps Naruto will be good for the young Uchiha, the damage done by Uchiha Itachi although two years old is still affecting him dangerously. Or at least that's what the doctors told me, I wonder if they only said that to get a raise._

" OLD MAN! " screamed Naruto into the Sandaimes ear. Twitching at the volume the Sandaime turned to Naruto and asked " Yes Naruto-kun? " Naruto nodded slightly before continuing " and Iruka-sensei asked me to tell him the ranks of ninja which is weird because he is a teacher…" The Sandaime sighed.

_It's going to be a long night._

* * *

**And that's the end of that chapter, literally. I feel sad with myself for using Sasuke and Hinata as most people have before, But I am proud to say I haven't gone completely cliché and soon I shall break it, Like a fox which breaks things. **


	3. For my future

**Man, 430 hits and two reviews, I guess not many people like my writing. XD but, That's okay in the end, I'm writing this for myself SO I can get this out of my head and go on with my dull test filled life. Notice I update at Midnight? That's because I can waste all day lazing around, or at least I will until next Tuesday, A whole freaking week of tests awaits me.**

**I recently came across a set of writing with a picture of the Yondaime Hokage**

**To be Hokage is**

**To promise to die**

**To protect your village.**

**It reminded me of a story by Desiax, But enough of that, lets talk about Nothing!**

_**They say a devil lives in my soul.**_

_**But I promise not to let him take control.**_

_Sevendust Black_

* * *

_**Ten years after accident**_

****

Under the preverbal old oak Naruto and Sasuke were lying down staring up at the clouds. Over the past five years ever since they first met Sasuke had been closed off and rarely if ever talked leaving Naruto to do all the communication. Recently however Sasuke had begun to 'loosen' up and begun to talk to Naruto as much as he had him, well not as much, but he still talked.

"Naruto, why do you think people call this fire country? It's completely covered in trees. It's Hidden Leaf, Not Hidden Fire." The black haired boy questioned out loud as his eyes fell on a blurry leaf shaped cloud.

"Because, it sounds cool. And Hidden Fire doesn't sound friendly. The village is apparently the largest hidden..." Naruto slowly stopped talking allowing both of them to fall into a comfortable silence.

_The henge test could be problematic Naruto from what I've seen has been unable to properly apply the correct hand-seals to activate the Henge is it enough to stop him from continuing up th..._

"SASUKE-KUN! "In synchronisation screamed a pair of Pale blond and pink haired girls. _Ino and Sakura? Wha-Oh god no._ Both girls had started walking towards Sasuke, pushing each other at random intervals before breaking out into a sprint. Twitching slightly, Naruto pretended to stretch, 'accidentally' placing his leg in front of the two girl's path. The girls in question were arguing too much to notice their impending doom.

Two feminine bundles of clothing tumbled forwards towards Sasuke. Sasuke having gotten an idea of Naruto's intent had already moved out of the way. Without Sasuke to break their fall both of the girls ended up slamming into the trunk behind Sasuke **Crack!** Twin screams of pain erupted from the girls vocal cords as they crumpled to the ground, clutching at their heads.

Snorting lightly Sasuke turned his back on the girls and began to walk towards the Academy. Naruto who was laying on the ground clutching his side in an attempt to hold in the laughter slowly slid to his feet and followed Sasuke, Chucking lightly Naruto whispered into Sasukes ear " Good team work. " and nudged him in the ribs. Sasuke shot him a mild glare before smiling and releasing a small chuckle.

Sliding open the door to their five year retained class room Sasuke and Naruto looked around for a seat. Surprisingly the number of children in the room had dwindled over the years. Most of the would-be-ninjas had stopped once they reached the history segment of the third year. _Idiot's ninjas are about death_. Some parents had even had the gall to yell at Iruka in front of the class about their child's nightmares.

Choosing the today a pair of seats in the middle back row they both sat down and waited for their teacher, Iruka to come. Slowly but surely the rest of the class had filled in until most of the room was covered. Finally Iruka showed up and stood in front of the class glaring for effect at the whole class.

"Now at the end of the year we have yet another test." Groans could be heard throughout the class room. "THIS TEST, Ahem, This test will be on the Henge Transformation Technique" Naruto gripped the table slightly. At the mention of the transformation technique. Sasuke gave him a quick look before he mumbled under his breath, "You'll do fine. " Naruto gave Sasuke a slight smile.

Over the next few hours children left the classroom. And then came back, all of them smiling to their friends for their success. "Uchiha, Sasuke. " Iruka called out as he motioned for Sasuke to follow him. Sasuke silently got to his feet and exited the room after Iruka, Giving Naruto one last look. Before leaving the classroom entirely.

To Naruto it felt like hours, but in reality it was only ten minutes before Sasuke walked back in, an arrogant smirk on his face. "Uzumaki, Naruto. " Naruto snapped his head towards Iruka, his cerulean eyes glimmering with anxiety. Standing up Naruto made his way towards Iruka, a slight frown marring his face. Leaving the room he gave one last look to Sasuke before leaving the room.

"Naruto, when you are ready. " Iruka said impatiently. Sighing Naruto slid his hands into the **Ram** hand-seal. Bringing his Chakra to the surface of his skin Naruto whispered " Transformation Technique " The Chakra surrounding his body suddenly went wild, spiralling around him uncontrollably before bursting and dissipating. _It never works._ Naruto thought glumly as he looked to Iruka who was frowning at him. "Naruto, give it another shot. " Naruto nodded twice before once again bringing his Chakra to the surface of his skin and holding it there. A bit louder then before he said "TRANSFORMATION TECHNIQUE! " Instead of the previous effect of his Chakra going wild The Chakra on the surface of his skin remained in its basic form, flowing over his skin.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but you fail. " Naruto nodded towards Iruka glumly before walking back to the Fifth classroom and entering. Slowly he walked up to the back row and sat next to Sasuke, staring forwards at the blackboard he said softly. "I was unable to preform the Technique. " Sasuke nodded once "We can no longer be friends. "

Naruto sat shocked. _No longer be friends? He doesn't mean that...does he?_ "Why not? "Asked Naruto hurt as he turned to face Sasuke. Sasuke continued to stare at the blackboard for a minute before saying. "Because, you are weak. " Standing up Sasuke walked towards an empty seat in a different row before sitting down and continuing to stare at the black board.

* * *

It was night time and Naruto had been walking senselessly around the streets of Konoha depressed. _Sasuke won't be my friend unless I pass the exam, I have to pass the exam..._ Looking up from Naruto was surprised to find himself in front of the Hokage tower. _It looks for intimidating at night…_ He thought as he pushed open the doors of the tower and entered.

Inside there were few ninjas present. At the noise of the door they looked up and took note of Naruto, and like so many times before half of them nodded and the other half ignored him. Naruto quickly nodded back and scaled the stairs up to the Hokages office. _I wonder why they always let me up here..._ he thought idly as he looked at the secretary and greeted her.

Surprisingly she greeted him kindly and waved. At seeing Naruto's shocked look she said. "The Hokage is in an appointment right now, if you wait a minute he will be free. " Naruto nodded dumbly and moved to a seat on the right hand side to sit down on.

_Comfy _Naruto thought idly as he tested the seat by bouncing on it. As he did so the chair made a slight squeaking noise. Glancing at the secretary he noticed she wasn't paying attention. So he slowly pressed down on the chair creating a long and low pitched scarping sound. Just as the Secretary looked towards him Naruto stopped and folded his arms across his lap, glancing innocently at her.

Just as he was about to do it again the doors of the Hokages office opened up and out popped a familiar grey hair style. "Anbu-Chan? " Naruto wondered out loud. The person was now fully out of the Hokages office and Naruto took note of The Jounin vest he wore. Just like the Anbu member he had met five years ago the man had a similar hair style, His grey hair was spiked up to one side.

"Kakashi try to stop being so hard on your Genin teams, you've become notorious among the instructors. " The tired voice of the Hokage said. Shrugging Kakashi replied "They wouldn't have lasted a moment in real battle. I'm saving their lives. "The Sandaime sighed. "Very well, you may go back to regular Jounin duties until the next Genin exam. "

And with that Kakashi left. The Sandaime turned to his secretary and asked. "Who's next? " To which instead of answering she pointed to Naruto. Turning around The Sandaime was surprised to see Naruto Sitting on the chair. "Naruto, what brings you here? " "Well…" He glanced towards the secretary then back at the Hokage. Nodding The Sandaime beckoned for Naruto to enter his office. Turning back to the Secretary he said "Hold my appointments back for now. "Before entering the office and closing the doors behind him.

"I failed the exam today. " Naruto blurted out once the Sandaime closed the door. Frowning The Sandaime thought _is this why he's here? _"Naruto, because you failed doesn't mean you have to repeat. What did you fail on, The Bunshin Technique? "Naruto shook his head violently. " Henge..." The Sandaime stared at Naruto shocked. _That's the easiest technique to learn at the Academy._ "Naruto show me. "

Naruto nodded as he slid his hands into the _Ram_ hand-seal. "Transformation Technique!" he said, spreading the Chakra once again over his skin. Once again the Chakra flowed over the surface of his skin, but only did that, The Technique like expected had failed. "That is enough Naruto, Please wait here. "

The Sandaime opened up the door of the office and walked out. _He must be calling Iruka-sensei and telling him that I won't be a ninja, ever..._ Clutching his fists Naruto glared at the office doors. _…won't let him stop me from becoming Anbu…_ Naruto swore inside his mind.

Outside the office The Sandaime was down stairs calling for a certain white eyed father. "Hiashi-san! "He called out to the small room of people from the stair case. Within moments Hiashi hand stood up and was walking towards the stairs. "Sarutobi-san? "He asked blandly. Motioning for Hiashi to follow him The Sandaime ascended the stairs once again.

"I need you to do a quick Byakugan scan for abnormalities in an Academy students inner Chakra coils. " Hiashi glared at the back of the Sandaimes head. _He dares ask me to preform such a trivial act?_ Although annoyed Hiashi continued up the stairs and into The Sandaimes office. Although impassive, he was shocked to find Naruto in the room. _Perhaps it isn't so trivial._

"Naruto please stand up and face Hiashi. " The Sandaime said warily, looking to Hiashi he was surprised to see the Byakugan already activated. Naruto had never before seen the Byakugan activated, and as such was frozen in fear. _Is he going to attack me? Did I do something bad to Hinata? _Ignoring the look of fear upon Naruto's face Hiashi studied his Inner Chakra coils.

_They seem to have been compressed; from the look of the Kyuubi's Chakra it seems to have contorted the Inner coils to house itself. They aren't big enough for the traditional techniques Chakra requirements. _Hiashi voiced his thoughts to the Sandaime. The Sandaime nodded at Hiashi's conclusion. "It is as I thought Naruto is unable to produce Hand seal techniques but perhaps. Hiashi-san, may I ask of you a favour? "

Hiashi stared at the Sandaime for a moment before folding his arms across his chest. "The Hyuuga clan's secrets will never be taught to a non-Hyuuga. " The Sandaime shook his head slowly. " You misunderstand, I merely wish for you to teach Naruto Chakra control Without it he will be disadvantaged in once he becomes a Genin and it may lead to his death. "

"A Jounin would suffice to teach him Chakra control. " Hiashi said frowning. Sandaime disagreed, "No, The Hyuuga Chakra control method would benefit him much more. A Jounin's Chakra control is meant for Sealed Techniques. It would be useless to Naruto. "

_Death, I don't want to die._ Naruto for the first time since Hiashi had entered spoke up. "Hyuuga-sama. " Both Hiashi and The Sandaime looked at Naruto surprised he had talked while they were arguing over his future. Clasping his hands together and lowering his head Naruto spoke softly. "Please teach me what Sandaime-sama wants you to, I'll do anything! If I can't… even if I cannot use sealed techniques I still want to be a ninja. I beg of you, my dream is to become an Anbu...I can't do it by myself. "And_ get Sasuke back as a friend._ Naruto continued in his mind as he looked down at the floor. He missed the flash of surprise that graced the normally stoic Hiashi's face. _Anbu … Anything eh?_

"Submit to the Hyuuga clan and I will agree to teach you what you need to know to survive as a ninja. " Hiashi said offhandedly, fully expecting Naruto to decline. "I'll do it. " Naruto said softly. The Sandaime who was about to protest glared at Naruto but remained silent. _How will this turn out I wonder._

Hiashi blinked and then smiled at Naruto. _What determination. _"Although you are not Hyuuga in blood I shall show you some of the finer points of Chakra control. You will remain on the Hyuuga estate for the next year, and pending an evaluation you may be released. You will be classified as a Branch house member-""I will not permit you to place the Clans Cursed seal on him! " The Sandaime interrupted as he glared at Hiashi. Hiashi simply waved his hand at the Sandaime. "He is past the age of Initiation, Placing the seal on him now would just kill him. "He said dismissively.

Hiashi focused on Naruto again his lips quirked into a soft smirk. "Further the belonging's you cannot live without. Consider this if you will a long term mission, your payment will be in training. The Clan complex is near the Hokage monument, you should be able to find it with ease. To gain admittance tell the guards your name and they will allow you to enter. "

Nodding quietly Naruto exited the room to return to his apartment and collect the items he would need. The Sandaime watched as Naruto exited. Turning to Hiashi he asked "Is it necessary for him to remain on the Hyuuga estate for a full year? "

"Yes, For secrecy. "

* * *

After leaving his apartment Naruto walked a bit towards the Hokage monument before turning around and giving one last look to his home for the past ten years _See you in a year... _As Naruto continued to walk only the occasional light from inside a house gave him the luminance he needed to see where he was going. After walking for quite a while the Hokage monument loomed over head. Naruto stared in awe. _Shodaime, Nidaime, Old man, and the Yondaime. I wish I was strong like them._

Looking back down at his surroundings Naruto was surprised to see the Hyuuga Manor. It was an impressive sight in the minimum light the moon provided. _Amazing_ Naruto thought as he walked towards the gate. "Halt! "A voice called out, Naruto quickly spun to his right. A man clad in black was crouched on top of a pillar. Squinting slightly Naruto noticed that he had White pupils like Hinata and Hiashi. "State your purpose! " Naruto blinked before mumbling "Uzumaki Naruto. " Chuckling softly the Guard jumped down in front of Naruto. He straightened up and looked down at Naruto before nodding "Hiashi-sama said you would be coming. Follow me Uzumaki-san. "The Guard started walking towards the Main house quickly, Naruto surprised at the speed had to jog to catch up, slowing beside him but keeping the pace Naruto took the chance to look around. Most of the front of the complex was green. _I'd hate to mow this lawn._ Thought Naruto idly before stopping.

Pushing open the door the guard afterwards held it open for Naruto. "Welcome to the Hyuuga clan mansion Uzumaki-san "Nodding to the Guard Naruto stopped before entering. Curiously he asked "Excuse me, Hyuuga-san, But what is your name? " Naruto continued into the house as the Guard said, "My name? …Guard. "Naruto blinked_ Guard is his name? Weird._ Guard motioned for Naruto to follow him. Following Guard Naruto soon found himself in a large dining room.

At the opposite end of the room Hiashi Hyuuga sat down across from his daughter Hinata. "I know you like the black dress but you are not allowed to wear it outside of the ground! I don't want any young boys getting any ideas about you Hinata! "Hiashi lectured. Just as he was about to take his second wind he noticed Naruto the _Guard_ approaching. "Hinata I will talk to you in a moment. " Following his line of vision Hinata was surprised to see Naruto walking towards them. _What' going on? _She wondered as Naruto bowed to Hiashi.

"Naruto, we will discuss your training schedule tomorrow morning, but until then you will need to acquaint yourself with your room. It is located on the Branch House wing. "Looking to Guard Hiashi spoke again, "Please fetch Hanabi for me, she will escort Naruto to his room. " Guard bowed to Hiashi before leaving presumably to find Hanabi. Yawning softly Naruto looked at Hinata and waved. "Hey Hinata-Chan." he said softly.

Hinata blushed at the suffix Naruto added to her name. Hiashi on the other hand... "You are to refer to main House member with the title Sama, any less and I will have you taking punishments. " Naruto's eyes widened slightly before nodding. _He might not train me either._ Naruto rephrase his sentence "Hello Hinata-sama. " Hinata frowned slightly before replying, "Good evening Naruto-kun. " Just as Naruto was about to start the conversation someone walked into the room.

" You asked for me Uncle? "

Naruto turned his head to the door way and was shocked to see a girl, a little older then him. Naruto blushed lightly as he looked at her, Her skin was a soft white a little more pale then Hinata's. Her black hair reached down past her shoulders . Looking into her eyes Naruto saw the now familiar white of the Hyuuga clan. Shaking his head slightly he looked back to Hiashi. " Please escort Naruto to the empty room next to yours. On the way you are to show him where the utilities are.

Hanabi nodded turning her attention to Naruto and snapped at him. " Hurry up. " and turned on her heel, sending her hair flailing behind her in a single wave. Naruto bade his good byes to Hiashi and Hinata before running after her to catch up. Slowing up beside her Naruto introduced himself. " My name's Naruto Uzumaki, It's nice to meet to. " Suddenly stopping Hanabi turned and glared at Naruto. " I know who you are, What I want to know is why you are interrupting my personal time. " Naruto deflated slightly at the murderous glare she was giving him before mumbling " I'm here for training. "

_Training? He isn't a Hyuuga the only thing is Control any Hyuuga could teach him._ Hanabi Resumed walking, Naruto wisely kept quiet until they came to a stop again. Waving her hand towards a door Hanabi spoke " This is the bathing room, Inside there are two separate parts, For Male and Female. " Waving her hand opposite Hanabi motioned to a door less entry " This is the Sparring room, it is where you will be training. " Continuing on not bothering to ask Naruto if he had any questions she soon came to a hallway filled with doors and name tags.

" This is the branch Family wing. It is where you will be sleeping when you are not training, Do you have any questions? No? Good bye. " Hanabi turned on her foot and began to walk away. " huh? Wait! " Hanabi stopped walking again and glared at Naruto. " What is it now? " "Well.. Which is my bedroom? " Hanabi blinked once before turning around, and taking hold of Naruto's upper arm dragging him down the hall to the end.

" This is your room" she said motioning to the door on the right side as she let go of Naruto's arm. Pointing to the one opposite it on the left side she continued " This is my room, If I ever find you in it you will regret it do you understand?" Instead of walking off straight away Hanabi glared into Naruto's eyes. Without wasting anytime he nodded and bowed " Thank you Hanabi. "

And with that Hanabi walked away from him. Facing his door Naruto grasped the handle and pushed it open. In front of him was a plain white room with a Bed and a wardrobe. Sighing softly Naruto began to unpack his bag and place the content in various places in the room. After finishing Naruto looked around the room before sighing.

_Home sweet Home._

* * *

**Well this chapter is a bit shorter then the last, But then I turned three hundred and seventy words into three thousand seven hundred and sixty nine words. Wait that isn't right, every time I type it increases the amount, But oh Who cares?**

**Sarah – Thank you for your words of encouragement **

**emikae – You need to use the Amnesia powder on him.**

**MingShun - Thank you.**


	4. Hyuuga Superiority

**Many good points from the reviews, I would feel foolish if I didn't turn this into my own personal forum. But that can wait till the end of this chapter. Sadly just as this chapter was about to come out I saw a new Alert! For a story I like **

'**Trial and Error' so if I don't get this out by the end of the day, you know which author to blame. Just finished, I have unclouded rage in my heart right now and it fits the next chapter.**

**To clear things up this IS Alternate Reality. Few will have noticed but in the last chapter Hanabi referred to Hiashi as Uncle. I've done the possible and switched Hanabi and Neji over Thus Hanabi is one year older then Naruto. Eleven years right now, I said AR instead of AU because it isn't another universe. It's the same world with different choices.**

**Minus around four hundred words for my notes.**

**Two bits today**

**Adrenaline! Keeps me in the game**

**Adrenaline you don't even feel the pain**

**Wilder then your wildest dreams**

_**-Gavin Rossdale**_

**Back off I'll take you on.**

**Headstrong to take on anyone.**

**I know that you are wrong.**

_**-Trapt **_

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* * *

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**_Ten years after Incident. The Next day_**

_**Naruto's Point of View/**_

_Wake up..._

_**What's that?**_

_Wake up now, Or else._

_**No I'll stay here thanks.**_

_I SAID WAKE UP!_

_**/End Point of View**_

A sudden blast of cold air hit Naruto's skin; instinctively he curled up to warm his body up. Beside his bed an aggravated Hanabi was holding herself back from attacking him. Calming herself down she gave Naruto a final glare. "Uzumaki-san wake up. "

Rolling over to the away from Hanabi Naruto mumbled drowsily "wha...five for minutes Anbu-Chan. "as he snuggled into his pillow.

But Hanabi had had enough, pressing her thumb and pointer finger together she gathered Chakra into the tips of each, pushing it out of the tenketsus against the force of the Chakra emanating from the other finger. Between the two fingers a small blue piece of 'lightning' connected the top points. Hanabi reached over and pressed her two fingers against Naruto's neck sending a quick Chakra induced shock through his body.

Naruto literally jumped in his bed. He quickly turned around and glared at Hanabi. Hanabi smirked at Naruto smugly before scowling remembering her purpose "Hiashi-sama has asked me to awaken you. "

Despite himself Naruto smiled at Hanabi who in return glared and exited his room. Once she had left his room Naruto shivered feeling the after effect of the Chakra fading from his body. _Intense… Is she always like that, I wonder. _Thought Naruto as he slid out of bed and grabbed his clothing with was neatly by his standards set over the end of his bed. Quickly getting dressed today he favoured his black T-shirt and trousers.

Yawning slightly Naruto opened his door and stepped outside. Shivering involuntarily he closed the door and started walking back the way Hanabi had shown him the day before. _How cold._ He thought as he neared the 'Training room '.

Stepping inside Naruto took his time to look around the room. Unlike the hallways and his room the room wasn't clean. Heck it wasn't even a room. Naruto in awe stared at the semi-large arena in the middle of the room. On each side there was a different set of objects and terrain.

To his right Naruto could see a line of Humanoid dummies with small dots on their bodies. Without his curiosity sated Naruto glanced to his left confusion racked his mind. On left wall were diagrams of the human body, the weird thing about it from where Naruto was he could see a kind of rust over the bodies. On later inspection Naruto would come to realise they were burn marks.

On the far end of the room Naruto would see a large wall completely innocent by looks. Turning his attention away from the surroundings Naruto walked down to the Arena in the middle. He hadn't seen them clearly before but now closer he wasn't surprised to see Hiashi.

But he was surprised to see Hiashi with a little boy with hair slightly shorter then Hiashi's talking with him. _Is he Hiashi's son? Neji I think it was._ Pausing for a moment unsure of what he was interrupting Naruto wondered_ Hinata said he was born the same year when we started the Academy that makes him five._ Before he began to approach the pair quietly.

Once near Hiashi and the young boy Naruto bowed to Hiashi "Hiashi-sama, Hanabi said you wanted me. " Turning his head to face Naruto Hiashi nodded.

"You are to begin your training effective immediately. Due to my sons enrolment in the Ninja Academy I am personally handling his training. I will show you how to do the various exercises and then leave you to your own devices. "Hiashi recited as if off paper. Turning his attention back to his son he spoke again.

"Neji-kun we will resume the matter in a moment. " Hiashi reiterated before walking to the far end of the room. _Looks can be deceiving._ Naruto thought as he approached the wall. Suddenly the wall seemed to grow in size and loomed ominously over head.

Naruto stared up at the wall. He could **feel **the latent Chakra flowing through it. _Amazing_.

"This is the crowning achievement of Hyuuga Architecture. Your goal is to climb to the top of the wall and remain at the top for as long as you can, once you reach an hour you will have passed his segment of the training. "Naruto nodded slightly to Hiashi's words as he continued to stare at the wall.

"Normally this would be hard for a Non-Hyuuga because of the lack of insight into the workings of Chakra. For you however things will be even harder, without the ability to utilise the Ram seal to mould your Chakra you will be moulding and controlling your Chakra manually. "Hiashi chuckled lightly before turning to Naruto.

"This will take you at least three years to completely master. " Naruto held back a glare before asking curiously "How long does it take Hyuuga clan members to master? " Smiling Hiashi replied.

"Two months. "

Naruto clenched his fist

_I'll master it in one._

* * *

_**Four and a half hours later**_

Children had begun to pile into classroom number five at the Ninja Academy. As the last of the students had entered the room and taken their seats Iruka absentmindedly wondered where Naruto was. Expecting Naruto to join the classroom soon Iruka began to mark off the names of the Students.

At the end of the roll a single name was left unticked, pressing the tip of his pencil to the box he called out " Uzumaki Naruto? " whatever he expected to hear it wasn't silence. Looking up to the class He was surprised to seat Sasuke sitting alone.

_I thought he would have snuck in._ Iruka raised his voice slightly. "Does anyone know where Naruto is? " The class erupted into whispers each of them wondering where Naruto was, He was rarely late. Over all the nonsense whispers a single voice tried to be loud enough to be heard.

Hinata Hyuuga was trying her best to raise her voice to let Iruka know she had last seen Naruto last night at her house. Kiba Inuzuka hearing Hinata's fruitless efforts to be heard inhaled deeply before standing up.

"**SHUT UP! HINATA'S TRYING TO SAY SOMETHING! "**

The Students quieted down quickly for fear of being a target of one of Kiba's anger. Hinata blushed as it seemed every set of eyes in the room was aimed at her.

"I-Iruka-s-sensei N-Naruto-kun was at m-y h-house last n-night. "She said quietly before realising the implications of what she just said. As soon as the girls in the room processed the information Hinata found herself being dragged to a corner and hounded with questions.

Iruka on the other hand was contemplating what it could mean for Naruto to be away from school and at the Hyuuga clan mansion.

_Naruto failed yesterday perhaps he thought he would not be able to continue because he failed the easiest skill taught to ninjas. But then why go to the Hyuuga. What would he gain from them, He has no Byakugan and I am sure as hell that they would never teach anyone the Gentle fist outside of the Clan._

Looking up Iruka was surprised that the students had already left for break. With a few choices swear words Iruka stood up and went to the staff room intent on getting something to eat and then finding out what happened to his student, After school of course.

* * *

Naruto was beginning to become frustrated. No matter how hard he tried or how much Chakra he put into his hands he always slid down before even getting three feet off the ground. He had been doing at it for almost six hours. But his Chakra levels slowly declined and he was forced to take a break.

Sitting in front of the wall Naruto began to think about how this was supposed to work.

_Hiashi said I had to find the correct amount of Chakra to hold myself to the wall, To much I would be blown off and damage the wall or too little and I wouldn't be able to climb it. But once I find the proper amount of Chakra and start climbing it starts to fail and I start falling. I try to put in more Chakra to make up for it and it fails._

Sighing Naruto stared up at the wall. _Maybe I won't be able to be an Anbu…_ Standing up Naruto was about to call for Hiashi when he turned around. But instead of calling out Naruto just stared. He was the only person in the room. And then it suddenly occurred to him. He smacked his forehead. _Idiot! You aren't that important. He must have better things to do._

Turning back to the wall Naruto stepped up to it again, placing his hands against the cool surface and slowly began to channel Chakra into his hands. As soon as he felt the space between his hands and wall fill with the same amount of air that had been there before he slowly began to climb, but instantly he felt it happen again, The Chakra had begun to dissipate just like every other time. Naruto tried to grasp the Chakra with his mind to stop it sliding away and almost succeeded for a second.

As soon as Naruto felt he had stopped the Chakra from Sliding away he felt prideful and without realising it let go of his hold. And with that momentary loss of control Naruto fell to the ground. Now use to the constant falling down Naruto landed on his feet with ease. Glaring at his hands Naruto charged them with Chakra again this time without touching the wall.

Placing his hands against the wall Naruto was surprised to find that it felt like a cushion was placed between his hands and the wall. Pushing on it Naruto could barely push through from the density of it. With a glimmer of insight Naruto slowly tightened the Chakra between his palm and the wall into a thin layer. And slowly began to take his hand off the wall only to place it above his other hand.

Before he knew it Naruto was already halfway up the wall. Smiling at his success Naruto's control faltered and he had begun to slide down the wall. Growling slightly Naruto quickly reached above his hand to the wall to pull himself up, but only proceeded in making him descend faster.

A few moments later Naruto was kneeling on in front of the wall, his left eye twitching as he glared at it.

_Bastard._

* * *

Outside of the Academy Hinata was sitting on a bench sighing. She had just escaped the jaws of the Female members of their classroom who were trying to extract the information of what she and Naruto had been doing last night. Hinata had been tight lipped and hadn't said anything. She was quite proud with herself.

"Hyuuga Hinata. "

Hinata quickly turned to the source of the voice and was surprised to see in all his feminine glory Uchiha Sasuke standing right behind her.

"S-Sasuke-san? "

"What is Naruto doing at the Hyuuga complex? "

Shaking her head slightly Hinata replied "I d-don't know. "

Twitching slightly Sasuke approached her, his hands slowly sliding out of his pockets.

"You know, so tell me. "

"I d-don't know! " Hinata said a little more forcefully as she stood up and faced Sasuke.

A moment later Hinata was against a tree, Sasukes hands at her collar Pushing Hinata against the tree trunk and pulling against the collar of her coat Sasuke asked again.

"What is Naruto doing at the Hyuuga Compl- "Sasuke was cut off as a voice cut through his sentence.

"Release Hinata-sama now Uchiha. "

Snapping his head towards the source of the voice Sasuke was surprised to see a girl similar to Hinata.

"Hanabi-nee-Chan? "Asked Hinata quietly.

_Her sister?_

Releasing Hinata Sasukes eyes narrowed.

"Tell me what Naruto is doing at the Hyuuga complex. "

Smirking superiorly Hanabi goaded,

"Oh Naruto-_kun_, Is that who you want to know about? "

_Naruto-**kun**! Since when has she called him that she only met him last night! Or. Did she know him from before...?_ Hinata's ranted in her mind.

Growling slightly as Hanabi talked down to him Sasuke was about to attack. But suddenly Hanabi answered his question, in a way.

"Naruto-Kun is currently under the jurisdiction of Hyuuga. "

Both Sasuke and Hinata stared at her shocked.

"He has been a _bad_ boy, so Hokage-sama is giving him to us to do who whatever we want. "

_Naruto-kun is classified as a Branch member?_

_Naruto is getting taught by the Hyuuga?_

"Uchiha Leave Hinata-sama alone, or **else**. " Hanabi said softly with an under lying tone of promised violence. With that she began to walk away. Turning back to look at Hinata Sasuke was surprised to see she was no longer there.

* * *

Iruka sighed for the billionth time as he waited for his appointment to come up. Unlike a PROPER office The Sandaime just took ninjas in on the order they came in, which meant that if Iruka left at any point he would lose his spot and have to wait that much longer.

_This better be worth it._

" Umino Iruka? " Iruka's head snapped up, The Secretary was standing quiet a bit up the stairs, But from where he was he could see up her skirt. Quickly standing up so he didn't have the view Iruka followed her up to the Hokages office with a blush on his cheeks.

Before entering the office he noticed the secretary giving him a bemused look. The Sandaime was writing on a few documents as Iruka sat down in front of him.

"Iruka, what can I do for you? " The Sandaime asked as he looked up from the document he was signing.

" Naruto wasn't at school today , Hyuuga Hinata confessed that he was at her house, can you explain to me what is going on? " Iruka said slowly.

Chuckling the Sandaime smiled at Iruka.

"Naruto's Inner coils are slightly thinner then normal Ninjas, Hiashi is teaching him proper Chakra control. "

Iruka sighed in relief. "What a relief, I was worried for a second there. "

Nodding the Sandaime shuffled through a few documents until he found the one he needed. " Naruto will be with them until Hiashi sees that Naruto is fit to return to the Academy. "

_Oh that's nice of him._ Iruka's eyes almost jumped out of his head. "ARE YOU MAD! "

Coughing lightly The Sandaime looked up at Iruka again, a spec of annoyance littered within his eyes. Before he shrugged.

"It was Naruto's decision. "

* * *

_All…most…there…_ thoughts Naruto as he slowly dragged himself up the wall. A few more feet and he would be at the top. Ignoring the fact that his Chakra continued to get more and more uncontrollable as he climbed Naruto lifted his hand up intent on going a bit further before sliding down the wall. Without warning his control slipped and the Chakra between his hands and the wall expanded. The force of the Chakra sent Naruto flying backwards.

Eyes wide Naruto plummeted from the wall. Closing his eyes he waited for the dreaded impact. But it never came, instead he was surprised to find a body a little smaller then his slam into him and send him off a direct course with the ground. Quickly opening his eyes Naruto positioned his body so that he would roll once he hit the ground. And he did so.

Tumbling to a stop Naruto rested for a moment before looking over to where the figure had fallen. Hanabi stood on the ground without a single blemish on her skin or clothes to suggest she had fallen at all. _Amazing._ Naruto thought as he shakily got to his feet. Walking over to Hanabi he stumbled a few times before he came within a metre of her.

Bowing forwards deeply Naruto mumbled "Thank you Hanabi-san. "

Hanabi smirked bemusedly _How foolish._ She thought as she surveyed the damage he had done to his body. It was nothing a good nights rest wouldn't be able to heal. But that was if he was allowed a good nights rest.

"That was pathetic, Uzumaki even a non Hyuuga should have beaten this challenge already. You aren't even doing the hardest part. "

Naruto winced slightly at the tone of her voice. _Am I really that…?_ Naruto shook his head fiercely clearing those thoughts. Quickly thinking Naruto decided to let Hanabi have her way. Scratching the back of his head Naruto laughed slightly before asking.

"Hanabi-san, what am I doing wrong? "

Peering into Naruto's eyes Hanabi could see only confusion. After deciding to alleviate the problem Hanabi took a few moments to piece together the right words.

"Moulding Chakra directly is different from directing it through seals. When using seals you are asking your Chakra to act accordingly. It has no choice but to comply. Directly dealing with Chakra is completely different. Instead of asking your Chakra you have to force it to. This is what separates the Hyuuga from the rest. Instead of working around our bodies we work through them and thus we are superior. "

Hanabi having finished her small speech turned her back on Naruto and began walking to the exit of the Training arena.

"Hanabi… Thank you. "Naruto said softly before turning his back to her and facing the wall again. A small smile lit up upon his face as he began walking to the wall.

_Don't ask._

Placing his hand on the wall Naruto willed his Chakra onto the palm of his hand, compressing it into a thin layer between his flesh and the wall. Slowly he heaved himself up before slamming his other palm against the wall up as far as he could reach.

_Force it._

Naruto continued to hall himself up on the wall, slowly making his way further up. Instead of the before strain on his body he found the Chakra holding him firmly even if his wrists hurt slightly.

_Through the body._

_There._ Naruto thought as he touched the ceiling. A Bright smile graced his face moments before it became serious again. In the middle of the Arena Hiashi was standing patiently watching Naruto. As their eyes met Hiashi beckoned Naruto down with his hand. Just as Naruto was about to slide down the wall another motion from Hiashi caught his attention. He beckoned again. _I'm hurrying. How else can I get down? Unless..._ Hazarding a look down Naruto shuddered slightly.

_I don't want to jump._

Hiashi beckoned again. Sighing softly Naruto mumbled

"Well, you only live once. Here goes everything! "Naruto yelled the last part as he pushed the Chakra in his hands against the wall creating two small explosions on between his hands and the wall. The Explosions sent him flying towards the middle arena face first. Moulding a thin layer of Chakra over the palm of his hand again Naruto struck his arm out to the right just as he was about to pass one of the four spires on the edges of the arena.

_Crap._ Naruto thought as he missed the grab. In slow motion it seemed he was heading straight towards Hiashi. For the second time on that day Naruto closed his eyes and waited for a great amount of pain to claim him. This time he was not disappointed.

His body lurched as something akin to a wall slammed into his chest. His eyes snapped open as he fell to the ground, his mouth opened wide. Ribbons of saliva erupted from his open mouth as the momentum carrying him faded. Beside Naruto Hiashi stood with his arm out above him.

Hiashi was looking down at Naruto with a look akin to amusement.

"It seems Chakra control is not the only thing we need to work on, your aim is off by at least sixty centre meters. But I am impressed that you have finished the first part of this exercise so quickly. Quickly for a Non-Hyuuga that is. "

Blushing at the unexpected praise at first Naruto smiled up at Hiashi before his eyes widened. _FIRST PART! And wait! Hanabi said I was goi...Oh yeah she told me how to do it._ _I'll keep that secret to myself he he he._

Slowly Naruto stood up wobbling at first before finding his balance.

"What now Hiashi-sama? "

"Now you can sleep. " Hiashi looked at Naruto hard. _Such determination._

"What? No Dinner! "Hiashi chuckled.

"You missed Dinner, It was over five ours ago. " Naruto looked distraught

"WHAT! "

_Well maybe not determination._

* * *

**I lost interest in writing this chapter fairly quickly Accidentally, I stayed up until two thirty in the morning, and yes it was an accident. I was otherwise occupied and my version of time had changed. Just laid down for a bit and woke up to see a nice chapter of Encyclopaedia Ninja in my inbox. Still slightly tired but I will prevail, for it is **

**My Way of Life! **

**Never give up! **

**Unless it isn't worth it!**

**Luckily I stopped writing. I came up with a few different ideas.**

**Coca-Cola – Once I post this chapter I will remedy any confusion which may be had in the future. I would have created a new Paragraph for each person talking, But I feel cheated when I read a story and it isn't as long as I thought it would be. If someone else comments on it I will change it, but right now it isn't a high priority.**

**madnarutofan – Yeah see Coca-Cola already commented on this. I realise now that having the summary that vague was foolish of me. Hey hey! Hyuuga are humans to. That's one of the main points of this story, you WILL see a human side, the manga and anime shows things people will find interesting. The audience for both don't want to see people like themselves.**

**Wizard Surreal – For every action there is a reaction. Naruto's base character is slightly changed. There will be minimal pranking. But the pranks he will do. Boom. **

**I'll have to decline your suggestion of increasing the chapter's length. Although most would appreciate it. I've actually made a small background to the story. Believe it or not chapter three was just three hundred words, I stretched the base idea into around 3500 or something. Chapter five right now is 500 words, which means it should be around 5000-6000ish when finished.**

**Dairokkan – I've never tried Red Bull, I had a different type of energy drink 'V '.**

**Yo – Yo, Thanks for your review, No matter what I ever say about reviews having someone compliment me so blatantly makes me smile. If I ever take over the world, Remind me of this review and I will give you a small country, Joking! The world would be too hard to manage. I'll just take over a beach. Ha ha. **

**Remington Spitzer – The Anbu upbringing isn't crucial to the story. In fact it was something I created to fill the void and give Naruto direction in the path of his life. As for the black dress thing let me put it this way. Fathers always have a soft spot for their daughters. Without another daughter Hiashi's sole outlet for his over-protective father instincts is Hinata. I am sure you get the general idea.**


	5. Swirly Whirlie Trouble

**Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Jiraiya instead of Orochimaru became a missing-nin? Would it be Hidden Pervert Village with pervert techniques? Once Naruto's Sexy no Jutsu had been seen by a foreign Ninja its legend would spread and then instead of Sasuke it would be Naruto leaving the village!**

**Just a thought. XD**

**_Look at what you've done to me  
you've become my enemy  
Poisoning the world for me  
Take away my everything  
Weakened as I am_**

_**-Disturbed**_

_**Only the strongest will survive,**_

_**Lead me to heaven when we die,**_

_**I am the shadow on the wall,**_

_**I'll be the one to save us all.**_

_**- Breaking Benjamin**_

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* * *

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Clutching his blanket Naruto snuggled down into his bed. Dreaming about whatever ten year olds dreamt about. A smile graced his face. Unknown to him Hanabi was about to initiate the morning ritual which had first started six months ago and had continued since.

Gripping the end of Naruto's blanket Hanabi with an almighty jerk tried to tear it off him. But she was met with resistance. Narrowing her eyes slightly she tugged again before noticing that Naruto was wrapped up in the material.

"Naruto, get up now. "

Naruto just mumbled and curled up more ignoring Hanabi. Pondering the situation for a mere moment Hanabi devised a devious plan. _Perfect_ she thought as she leaned close to Naruto's ear and whispered.

"Breakfast time. "

Naruto's eyes flashed open and he quickly tried to sit up and get out of bed. Unfortunately he was still wrapped up in his blanket and only managed to lose his balance and fall off the bed and hit the ground.

Once regaining his composure Naruto glared up at Hanabi who was smiling innocently down at him. Grumbling "Lousy Bi- "whatever he was about to say was cut off as Hanabi kicked him half-heartedly on the outer thigh with a slight murderous glint in her eye. Knowing better then to cross Hanabi in the morning, or EVER Naruto kept quiet until she decided to leave.

As he had for the last six months Naruto quickly got dressed before heading out of his room to the bathing area. Unlike the first few days he had been at the Hyuuga complex Naruto now knew that Hanabi always woke him an hour before breakfast which gave him enough time to either have a quick shower or start training.

After finishing the first segment of the Hyuuga's 'wall training'. Hiashi had decided to have Naruto run up the wall. Surprisingly Naruto understood what he had to do. And created a layer of Chakra surrounding his feet. After giving it a test run He had decided that it was a lot harder then using his hands and he had to be careful.

_**Flash to the back**_

_Naruto had made it most of the way up the wall. Just as he was about to pass his previous best the control slipped on his right leg and he was blasted away from the wall._

_After the first few dozen times of losing control and falling in an unmanageable state to the ground He had devised a simple method of placing the Chakra in mass amounts over the part of his body that would hit the ground first. Instead of the massive pain and multitude of bruises after using his ' Chakra cushion ' his Chakra reserves were the only thing worse for wear. _

_Smiling Naruto spun in the air, aligning his body parallel with the ground. As the ground came dangerously close Naruto solidified the Chakra. Instead of hitting the ground and bouncing away injured Naruto simply laid slightly above the ground. With a small laugh he let go of the control and hit the ground._

_Just laying there on the ground Naruto smiled. _

_**This...is fun**. He thought as he begun to rise again._

_**Flash to the future.**_

Walking into the bathing area Naruto looked around to make sure no one was inside. Surprisingly only a single person was there and he was shaving. _It's Guard._ He thought idly and moved across the room. Trying not to make to much noise Naruto walked to the large bath situated on the far side of the room.

Quickly taking off his clothes and placing them in a pile away from the immediate splash zone Naruto smiled mischievously. Tensing his muscles he quickly sprinted to the waters edge and jumped up above the water. Clutching his knees to his chest he took a deep breath and hit the water.

The aftermath was amusing to say the least. After coming up from the depths of the water Naruto shook his head and stared innocently at the man. Now aware that Naruto was in the room Guard twitched and glared at him. On his cheek was a small red gash.

Scratching the back of his now soaked head Naruto laughed awkwardly. After a while Guards glare let up and he smiled down at Naruto.

"Naruto-kun you know that it's dangerous to make a loud noise when someone is shaving don't you? "

Guiltily Naruto nodded before mumbling an apology, "Sorry Guard. "

Guard nodded before turning back to the Mirror trying to finish shaving before Naruto decided to make another large splash. Instead of splashing around again Naruto decided to give Guard a break.

Naruto sighed in content as he slid down into the water and allowed it to envelop him up to his head. _Life couldn't get any better._ Taking a deep breath Naruto allowed himself to sub-merge under the surface of the water. Slowly he turns his head from side to side enjoying the feeling of his hair trailing against the water.

After a while Naruto decided he had spent enough time in the water, that and the Main house members had begun to wake up and wanted to shower. Naruto scowled _Snobby bastards._ He thought angrily.

Everything in the complex was controlled by the main house members and if you weren't a Main house member you were nothing. Naruto hadn't even bothered learning any of their names they didn't talk to him so he never talked to them.

The Branch house wasn't that much better all of them had dark personalities and continuously made the main house sound like monsters. _Even though sometimes they are._ He thought remembering three months ago when He had played a prank on one of them hoping to make them smile.

_**Flash to the back**_

_Snickering Naruto climbed up above the entrance to the training room. Placing a bucket just on the edge of the doors frame. Jumping down Naruto stared proudly at his master piece. The Bucket was connected to a set of strings with each did a different thing, One set of strings running across the lower part of the door were meant as a trip wire. As soon as someone passed the door they would be covered in **freezing** cold water._

_On the ground Naruto had come into possession of some alkaline metals through some shady transactions and asked Hinata to go to a blacksmith and ask them to turn the strips into shavings. Spread all over the floor were microscopic pieces of Lithium._

_Naruto rubbed his hands together in glee as he heard the foot steps of someone. Quickly hiding behind the dummies Naruto watched as a Main house member entered the room. His foot caught on the trip wire and the bucket fell down. Hearing the sudden noise he snapped his head upwards and wash immediately drenched in the cold water._

_Oh but No1 it didn't end there, under his fee the ground literally ignited in a short burst of flammable hydrogen and burned brightly. Without a second thought the main house member jumped to the side and rolled on the ground, activating his Byakugan and searching the room for a threat._

_His eyes fell quickly on Naruto who was although hiding completely visible to the Byakugan. Screaming in rage the Hyuuga charged at Naruto Intent on an at least forcing Naruto to be bed ridden for a week. His actions were halted however as Hiashi appeared between them and back handed the main house member off course._

"_Naruto leave, I will deal with you later. "_

_Naruto nodded before running out of the Training area. Smirking Naruto gave a thumbs p to Neji who had been sparring with his Father. Neji just stared at him and after he had left gave a little chuckle._

_**Flash to the future**_

Now that he thought about it Naruto realised that besides Hinata and Neji, well less Hinata more Neji. Hinata just blushed when Naruto looked at her.

Stretching as he walked into the dining room Naruto waved to a few of the branch house member he was friends with before taking a seat next to Neji and beginning a conversation with him as he loaded his bowl with cereal.

"I'm telling you Neji, No don't interrupt! You'd look better if you had cool hair like mine!" Naruto prattled on ignorant of the weird looks everyone was giving him. The looks changed to surprise as Neji answered.

"No way, you'd look MUCH better with my hair! "The retort came as a surprise to Naruto who as he took in the words and imagined himself with Neji's style of hair.

"No way! I'd look freaky! But you would look cool with my hair! Naruto fought back his point. Trying to coax Neji into changing his hair style.

"Yeah... I think you're right. "Neji pondered trying to imagine himself with short spiky hair. The mental image appealed to him.

"NO! " Hiashi interrupted loudly before coughing slightly. "I forbid you to dye your hair Blond or style it like Naruto's. "

Both Naruto and Neji seemed to deflate some what. Turning to his other side Naruto was about to start a conversation but then froze and slowly turned away back to Neji. _Uh...It's a small house after all._ He thought as he hoped the Hyuuga wouldn't attack him.

Glancing to Hinata he was surprised to see her watching him. Instead of the normal blush on her face a small smile had found its place.

"Hinata-sama! What have you been doing at the Academy? Anything cool happen? "Naruto questioned excitedly, he had completely forgotten about the Academy to involve with his Training.

Hinata laughed lightly before nodding.

"Iruka-sensei has been teaching us how to use the **Art of Replacement** and **Art of the Doppelganger** it's really fun. Why are you oh...? "Hinata started off but remembered Naruto couldn't use sealed techniques. And mumbled "Sorry Naruto-kun. "

Naruto just waved her apology off. "It's fine! I've learned lots of cool stuff here, much better then stupid sealed techniques. "He nodded afterwards as if reassuring himself of what he said.

Naruto turned back to his breakfast and finished it quickly. After placing his plate on the dishes tray he quickly bowed to the members still at the table and waved to Neji and Hinata before leaving to work out the kinks in the latest exercise Hiashi had given him.

* * *

Sweating Profusely Naruto continued to channel Chakra out through his hands creating a small sheet of Chakra between his hands and the water. Beneath his hands the water was swirling violently fuelled by the Chakra he was sending out to keep him above the water.

The longer he had remained on top of the water the faster and harder the waters spun. It was a constant battle against movement. Instead of the calm cool easy exercise he had been expecting today Hiashi had decided he had progressed enough to do some advanced basic training. A week before Naruto had had the easy job of remaining on top of the water. First on his hands then on his feet. From there he had to do various exercises and it just went downhill.

Meeting the challenge Naruto told Hiashi he would master it in a week. And he did. Expecting that Hiashi had introduced Naruto to the _Spar room._ At first Naruto thought it was just a normal spar used for relaxing and that he had gotten a reward for his excellent progress. He was wrong. As soon as he stepped out onto the water it had slowly begun to swirl and not before to long had visibly begun to turn into a whirlpool. As soon as he stopped trying to walk on it and sunken in the force of the whirl had stopped and slowly settled back down.

"This exercise is meant to allow you to control the flow of Chakra and ingrates the basic instinct into your mind. Do as you did for the Water walking exercise. "Hiashi had said before leaving supposedly to go talk to some of the other members of the main house family.

And now here Naruto was. Upside down on top of a violently spinning whirl pool. **(A/N: Spider drinks are great!) **Just as Naruto lost control of the sheet of Chakra under him he fell into the pool. Instead of the slow calming down of the waters it continued to spin violently and Naruto was thrown around the pool. Try as he might he couldn't get above the water level and his air was slowly running out. The Chakra spin induced waters had too much force behind them.

Just as he was about to close consciousness a slender hand grabbed his collar. As he was pulled out of the water He took a deep breath of air and begun breathing heavily trying to recirculate the air in his blood. After a few minutes he looked up.

Standing in front of him was a woman. Her face seemed flawless, obsidian strands of hair framed her face perfectly. Looking into her eyes Naruto was surprised to see instead of the expected whites of the Hyuuga pupil a shade of auburn staring back at him kindly.

"That was quite the mistake. "She said softly. Her voice to Naruto's ears sounded like Hanabi's except softer, gentler. Giving her a weak smile Naruto stumbled to his feet. On closer inspection Naruto notice her hair had a bluish tinge to it. _Blue hair? Oh! Hinata!_

"Are you Hinata's mother? " Naruto asked curiously. The woman nodded.

"I am Aigyou. "

Aigyou graced Naruto with a smile to which Naruto returned. Naruto bowed to her slightly before straightening up. "Thank you Aigyou-sama. " Naruto said softly.

"I will… Go back to training now. "

Just as Naruto was about to turn around a soft hand grasped his shoulder. Looking back Naruto was surprised to see Aigyou holding him still. "You're not going back to training with those injuries. "She chastised.

Naruto made a face. " I'm fine! " he said slightly annoyed before a zap of pain shot through his body as she touched him closer to his fore arm. Smiling gently she Aigyou spoke again.

"I must **insist** you come with me to the infirmary Naruto. " Naruto sighed softly. There was no way he could directly disobey a Main house Hyuuga. _She's nice. It won't take to much time. _Naruto nodded and turned around facing her again.

"Alright, lets go! "

Aigyou smiled and led Naruto out of the training rooms.

"This is the Hyuuga infirmary Naruto-kun. This is where the wounded Hyuuga and gusts come to heal. "Aigyou spoke softly as she pushed open the door of the small hospital.

Both Naruto and Aigyou walked into the room. Motioning for a bed close to a set of cabinets. Naruto nodded lightly and walked over to the bed before wondering out loud.

"Where is the Doctor? " Naruto turned around and frowned as Aigyou started chuckling. _Do I have to heal myself? How do I do that?_ He wondered silently waiting for Aigyou to speak again.

"You're looking at the doctor. " Naruto's mouth opened up slightly as he gaped at her statement. "But, Doctors are men, women can't be doctors, Can they? " Giving Naruto a Mock glare Aigyou retorted.

"Of course they can, I'm a doctor after all. "Her lips quirked up in a slightly sadistic smile. "Or would you prefer for me to get Kihatsusei in here to heal you? "

Naruto immediately paled. "N-no that's fine, you're a great doctor! " Naruto stuttered. Aigyou just smiled at Naruto before saying. "Wait on the bed I will be just a minute. "

Aigyou walked out of the room through a door at the opposite end of the entrance and silence fell onto the room. Deciding he had nothing better to do Naruto sat on a bed looking around the room slightly annoyed _Would it kill them to have some colour? _He wondered absentmindedly as he waited for Aigyou to return from where ever she went.

Smiling wickedly Naruto slipped off the bed and quietly walked over to a cabinet. Sliding it open Naruto was surprised to see rows of senbon needles lined up against the shelves. _Freaky._ He thought as he picked one of them up and twisted it around in the light. Admiring the quality of the metal, _Cool_. Was his next thought as he placed the small needle back in the cab nit and removed another which was twice as long as his hand.

"Be careful with that. " Came a voice right next to his ear. Naruto spun around and accidentally let the senbon needle slip from his hand. In slow motion Naruto watched as the needle slid downwards from his hand on a path with his foot.

Not a second to soon the needle stopped in mid air. Time for Naruto turned back to normal. Looking at Aigyou, Naruto was surprised to see her hand palm open facing the needle. _Double cool._ He thought as he watched her lift her hand up and the needle follow.

"Whoa, teach em that! " Naruto said enthusiastically as he began to jump up and down thinking of all the cool pranks he could pool if he could move objects without touching them.

Aigyou quirked a brow at Naruto. _This isn't that spectacular of a skill. Why he would want to learn it, I wonder. _After a moment of quiet thinking Aigyou decided it couldn't turn out any bad results.

"Sure thing. We can start right after I Find a lock to place on his cabinet. "

Naruto laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

_I shouldn't have touched it_ Naruto thought patiently as he wait for Aigyou to start teaching him, His previous training forgotten.

Half an hour Later Naruto was standing in front of a pile of rocks outside by the gardens. Naruto was mildly surprised to find that there was a pond hidden far behind the gardens. Looking around Naruto spied a different set of flowers from the rest of the garden. They were blue and yellow in colour. Highly contrasting with the white and red of the surrounding flowers. _Weird_ Naruto thought before dismissing the flowers and looking at the pond.

From what Naruto could see on the bank of the pond was a collection of stocks and stones. While Naruto had been looking around Aigyou had walked down to the piles of rocks. Quickly following Naruto stumbled once or twice on the loose soil before making it to her side.

"You'll practice the **Kuuden Hoorudo (1)** on these rocks. The purpose of this technique is to use your Chakra to keep an object at a certain distance. It is a lead up exercise to the Chakra strings which weapon specialists use to control their weapons at a distance. I will instruct you through the Beginning and then once I feel you have gained enough insight into the technique I will leave you to your own devices. "Aigyou spoke as if holding a simple conversation.

And then suddenly she changed. "Hold your hand out over the stones! "She snapped at Naruto. Surprised at the sudden change in attitude Naruto just stared at her shocked.

"HURRY UP! " She raised her voice. Wincing at the volume of her voice Naruto put a hand over a small stone. "Focus on my voice "she said again, this time back in her normal tone.

"Allow the Chakra to flow from your palm, Bath the stone in it. "

Naruto nodded as he slowly released his Chakra over the stone. Aigyou spoke again, but to Naruto it seemed her voice was fading away. _"Now collapse your Chakra onto the stone's surface. But don't touch the stone "_ Naruto continued to focus on her voice and did as instructed, Taking hold of his Chakra he pressed it again the stone from all sides creating a thick sheet around it. The Stone glowed blue from the contained Chakra. Just as Naruto thought he had gotten it his Chakra seeped into the stone.

**BOOM!**

Naruto's eyes widen and he began to blink, the stone he was using had exploded into dust and had gotten lose from his Chakra. "Try again! " Aigyou's voice became loud again. Nodding quickly Naruto brandished his hand over another rock this time not releasing so much Chakra and instead of pressuring the stone with his Chakra he just held it.

"_Now lift your hand up and with it the Chakra. "_ Naruto brought his hand upwards. The stone slowly began to rise before shaking. His Chakra slowly began to disperse around the stone and it soon fell back to the ground.

Sighing softly Aigyou placed her fingers on Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto I have to go back to the infirmary. But once you have mastered this come tell me and I will teach you how to mould Chakra strings. "

Naruto nodded to her mumbling. "Thank you. " Before turning back to the stone pile and retrying. Aigyou smiled down at Naruto before beginning to wall back to the Mansion.

_**Twenty four hours later**_

Naruto was laying down on his back glaring at the sky. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't hold the stone for more then five seconds and it was _starting _to frustrate him. Thrusting his hand to one of the stones Naruto thought 'Get_ over here! '_And forced his Chakra out of the middle of his palm in the shape of a rope. Smiling slightly at the thought he changed the end of the rope into the shape of a three pronged snake-like animal.

The end of the rope and 'mouth' of the Chakra snapped closed on the stone. Yanking his hand along with the Chakra 'snake' away from the rock Naruto hoped he had shattered it. A sudden pain erupted from his knee cap as something hard hit it. _Own What the Fu..._ Naruto blinked, the stone was next to his leg.

He quickly jumped to his feet yelling loudly in success, before feigning and falling over. A smile upon his face. Five minutes later a young girl would come to find Naruto like that and take him to his room it a smile on her face, her white eyes shining in amusement as she left him on his bed.

* * *

_**1) Static Hold **_

**_I got bored at the end of it so I added a small bit about Mortal Combat. Maybe there should be a Hidden Combat Village. Would be cool._**

_**Anti-thule – Why send a review saying review? It's just weird.**_

**_Dairokkan – Dinner no Jutsu, Basic stuff. Anyone pick up the joke? _**

_**Dragonmaster – This won't have a visible pairing for a while. So I promise Once I set the pairing out I will put it in big block letters in the summary, Actually I won't I will just have a note at the top of the page.**_

**_There is only one Rock Lee, thus Naruto won't be him. His path is much different from Naruto's. Rock Lee cannot access his Chakra; Naruto can as shown in his training. The only thing that has a chance at fixing Naruto's Inner coils is...Time. Cliché but true, One second my music just cut out. Okay that's better._**

**_His coils are compressed because of Kyuubi's Chakra. That's all I am saying at this point because Kyuubi's energy has a big part in this story. Those who recognised Kyuubi's defence will understand, hopefully._**

**_Naruto doesn't have to work around the problem, he is working through it. He can't fix it but he isn't going to let it stop him. In a few chapters you will see how Naruto will survive in the world._**

_**Nai-chama – Thanks.**_

_**kawaiineziumi – It is explained at the top of Chapter four in my note. If I update any sooner it will be two updates a day and bad quality ones. Isn't one a day quick enough for you? Ha ha, I'm glad you want to read more.**_

**_madnarutofan – You're right he won't pick up Gentle fist, The best he would be able to do it blast Chakra randomly at an opponents body and hope he struck a tenketsus and damaged it. After all he has no Byakugan._**

_**Sadly Naruto is unable to use ANY Hand sealed techniques. This for him is both a blessing and a curse. That's a great idea. I never thought of Kabuto teaching Naruto anything. Later on in the story he might. But not in the beginning. **_

**_Yo – As you can see I've slowed it down a bit. This isn't the original fifth chapter; I decided to write a bit more of the time he is spending with the Hyuuga. I'm trying to keep most of the information out of main view. This will go for around 30 chapters if I play it right. So there is plenty of time to say everything._**

**_Naruto's thoughts said he would Master it in one Hiashi said it should take him three years to completely master the exercise. Both he and Hanabi are trying to goad Naruto into pushing his limits. Think of it as reverse psychology._**

_**MingShun – She's a girl Neji. XD Just a different agenda.**_

_**Whoever read down to here I am going to give you some OMG HAX information. In this story Kisame is Naruto's Number one enemy, Can anyone guess why? **_


	6. Hidoi Hira

**I finished the last chapter surprisingly quickly, Most likely because I rushed the last bit. Most of you can tell from the small size of it. In my Notes it didn't end like that it went on for around three hundred words longer and didn't end with a certain girl taking him back.**

**To tell the truth I'm slightly annoyed. Around 97 people at the time of writing this have already read through the chapters and haven't left a review. It doesn't suck that badly does it?**

**I have found a theme song for Kyuubi. Heaven Denies by Demons and Wizards At the end I will paste the lyrics you'll see why I think so.**

**If you want a certain pairing I suggested you tell me quickly and why. If you don't tell me why you want the pairing with at least ten words I will disregard it. You can vote for whoever you want. If anyone votes Yaoi as I said I don't like it. But vote anyway and work it in somehow without making me twitch violently and throw my computer against a wall.**

_**I see you, Cause you won't get out of my way  
I hear you ,Cause you won't quit screaming my name  
I feel you, Cause you won't stop touching my skin  
I need you, There coming to take you away**_

_**Breaking Benjamin**_

****

* * *

****

_**Eleven years after Incident**_

Yawning softly Naruto slowly slid his eyes open and stared at the roof of his room. For a moment his mind was blank before like a TV information was suddenly loaded onto it in a flash. Looking to the door Naruto was surprised and slightly sad to find it closed. He had been expecting Hanabi to wake him up one last time. _Why would she now? She hasn't for the last four months_. Naruto thought gloomily. No matter how much he would deny it deep down he enjoyed the morning wake up sessions which Hanabi for the majority of the year would give him when he didn't wake up on time.

Yawning tiredly Naruto slid his feet off the bed and onto the floor slowly getting out of bed. Once on his feet Naruto wobbled over to his clothing for the today as he seemingly did every day and grabbed it. Surprisingly instead of dressing himself Naruto opened his door and proceeded to walk towards the Bathing area.

Once inside Naruto quickly undressed and threw his clothing haphazardly behind him. Sliding into the water Naruto immediately rejoiced in his decision to begin the day on a different note. As the warm water soothed his muscles Naruto slowly slid further into the water until his entire body was submerged. Slowly Naruto lost his feel for time and closed his eyes allowing the warmth of the water to carry him away.

**Splash!**

The water suddenly became turbulent and splashed Naruto's face violently with a wave of water. Snapping his eyes open he glared around the room to see who was here_ Right? No. Left? No. Above? No... That means. Crap!_ Naruto thought quickly, ending the final thought quickly and snapping his head downwards just in time to see a dark humanoid figure grab onto his ankles and pull him under.

As soon as his head up to his hair was wet the figure let go and swam to the surface beating Naruto up. Gasping for breath Naruto's head broke the waters surface. Quickly shaking his head to get the hair and water out of his eyes he glared at the figure in front of him before yelling.

"Guard! Damn it! I was enjoying that! "Naruto complained as he splashed around. The man now identified as Guard just laughed and allowed the front of his body to rise up with the water. Naruto quickly shielded his eyes and looked away from Guard.

"Put it away! " Naruto demanded not willing to look at the other mans genitals.

"Yeah whatever. That's what you get for messing with my shaving time." Guard mumbled as he became vertical again. Soon the tranquillity returned to the bathroom as both of it's occupants enjoyed the water.

Not soon afterwards Naruto decided no matter how pleasurable it was that he had to get out before he was turned into a human prune.

"Hey, Guard can you…you look away for me? " Naruto asked slightly embarrassed he had managed for the entire year he was at the Hyuuga's to not be seen fully naked from the waist down once and he planed to keep it that way.

Once he was sure Guard was looking the opposite way Naruto quickly climbed out of the bath and dried his lower body before putting on his pants. And sliding on his shirt. A smile found it's way onto his face as he left the bathing rooms.

Heading to the Training rooms Naruto expected to find the place empty and have a quiet place to practice his control. Instead Naruto found Neji standing across from Hiashi both of them in the Gentle Fist battle stance.

Without warning they launched themselves at each other and begun to deliver attacks. To someone not familiar with the Hyuuga style of battle they were evenly matched. But to Naruto Neji was slowly getting beaten. Each blow landed by a Hyuuga damaged, no matter how small to glancing. That's what made the Hyuuga so fearsome coupled with the Byakugan and you had a Ninja who could if fast enough hold his own against four people at the same level as them and beat them slowly one by one.

And just as it had begun it was over, Hiashi had landed a direct blow on Neji's right shoulder. Although in a real fight it wouldn't have stopped them it seemed it was only practice and instruction.

Naruto started to approach Hiashi and Neji. They had both already seen him in the corner of their eye so it didn't matter about telling them he was there. Hiashi and Neji turned to face Naruto as he stepped onto the arena. Hiashi looked normally to him but Neji smiled and nodded. Over the last year they had gotten quite close and enjoyed various pranks around the complex mainly on the Main house members.

"Hiashi-sama, Neji-sama. " Naruto said as he bowed forwards to them both. Hiashi looked at Neji. Neji scowled lightly but did as he knew Hiashi wanted him to and walked out of the training area.

Hiashi turned his full attention to Naruto. And waited a few agonising moments before speaking.

"It's been a year. " Naruto looked down at the ground as he processed the four words which flew from Hiashi's mouth. He had stopped keeping track of the time ages ago. All he knew was that it was night time or training time.

_It's been a year already? Have I learned enough? Sure I can control My Chakra as If not better then most of the Hyuuga. But is that enough? Why am I asking myself questions which I cannot answer?_ Naruto thought gloomily.

"You are supposed to return to the Academy to complete your last year. " Hiashi continued as he stared down at Naruto. Naruto turned his head upwards to look into Hiashi's eyes and protest.

"But I ha…" Naruto's voice faded as Hiashi raised his hand up to silence Naruto.

"Naruto, If I gave you another choice, what would you do? "

Naruto stared up at Hiashi in shock. _Another choice? _

"I accept. " Naruto said quickly his hands by his sides.

Hiashi chuckled lightly. "I haven't even told you what you will be learning. " Naruto just shrugged.

"I have learned more here then I have at the Academy. "

_I do not doubt that._ Thought Hiashi as he began to wall out of the Training area beckoning Naruto to follow him. Naruto quickly followed suit and soon they were deep in Main house territory. The corridors slowly got darker until they came to an ending. In front of Naruto was a large ominous door covered in various talismans.

Glancing to the sides of the door Naruto was slightly shocked to wind twin pairs of white eyes staring out at him. He could just see the outline of the Hyuuga just beyond. Turning back to the door Naruto slowly felt himself drift away from reality.

"This is the Hyuuga library, "Hiashi's voice broke Naruto out of his trance like state. "It contains the most Sacred scrolls of the Gentle fist. Besides many other important documents. "

Naruto stared at Hiashi in shock. "Do you mean I'll be learning the Gentle fist? "

Hiashi for the first time Naruto had ever heard laughed out loud, It was a laugh filled with amusement and mocking.

"Of course not. "without elaborating anymore on the matter Hiashi walked into the door. Naruto highly expected Hiashi to hit the wall, But instead he seemed to phase through it. Staring in shock at the wall Naruto stood still his eyes wide open.

Hiashi's head phased back through the door and glared at him snapping. "Hurry up. "before phasing back to the other side. Deciding he had nothing to lose and that if Hiashi could do it he could do it Naruto stepped forwards and began to walk towards the door.

Just as he was about to hit it he closed his eyes. _Now!_ He thought as reached the door. Instead of the feelings he had expected he felt…nothing. Opening his eyes Naruto was greeted with the sight of something unexpected.

In front of him was a pure black room, nothing was on the floor, nothing was in the room. the only tell tale signs of it being a library were the ends of the scrolls protruding from the walls which went up as far as Naruto could see. Stepping close to one wall Naruto saw there was some writing underneath the scrolls.

_Psychology and Terror: Beat your enemies without breaking a sweat._ Naruto read in his mind. _That's cool._ Just as Naruto was about to unsheathe the scroll from the wall Hiashi's voice called out to him.

"Naruto come here. " Turning around Naruto saw Hiashi at the far end of the room. He started walking towards him. As soon as Naruto came up beside him he noticed in gold engraved on the wall.

"_Hidoi_ Hira. " Naruto read off the wall._ The Severe Palm sounds cool_. He thought beforelooking to Hiashi for confirmation he only had to glance to see him nodding. Grasping the base of the first scroll Naruto slowly slid it out of the wall. It was as big as his forearm.

"Naruto, You have three months to Master the basics in this scroll. After this time I will be testing you on your form. If you in anyway fail to meet my test requirements you will be removed from the Hyuuga household and disallowed return. "Hiashi said holding his normal tone but his eyes showed something else; Expectation.

Naruto had frozen at the end of the statement, his eyes widen and fearful at the prospect of not being allowed back. Over the past year he had grown attached to a few of the Hyuuga and wasn't willing to leave it to chance that he would not see them ever again.

"I understand Hiashi-sama. " Naruto said his resolve holding. Leaning forwards he bowed to Hiashi, Holding the scroll against his chest with both of his arms.

_I won't fail. Anbu don't fail. _Naruto thought as he turned on his foot and marched out of the Library. Quickly moving through the Main house territory Naruto came to the 'Neutral zone 'as he liked to call it. It was in fact just a lobby where Non-Hyuuga waited until they were called by Hiashi. Who was there right now surprised him greatly.

"Iruka-sensei? " Naruto asked dumbly.

On one of the seats in the room Iruka was sitting down and reading a little blue book entitled 'Go go Paradise 'Looking up at first annoyed Iruka's expression changed to happiness the moment he recognised Naruto. "Naruto? " Iruka questioned.

"In the flesh. " Naruto said jokingly as he scratched the back of his head laughing lightly. His laughing stopped as Iruka quickly stood up and ran at him. As Iruka reached Naruto he wrapped his arms around the boy in a tight hug. "Class has been so boring without you. " Iruka said sadly. "But, The years over you can come back now! " Iruka smiled down at Naruto.

Naruto on the other hand got slightly nervous once again laughed. Iruka's eyes narrowed slightly. "You can come back now right? What's that scroll? "Naruto's eyes widened in fear as he pointed over Iruka's shoulder and yelled out.

"Well you see…WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? "his mouth agape in terror. Iruka quickly spun around and slid into a Taijutsu stance to combat whatever it was that Naruto had pointed to. As soon as he turned around he blinked, there was nothing there. Turning back to Naruto he was about to chastise him. But he wasn't there. Iruka smacked his forehead and went back to reading his book after mumbling.

"I'll get you Naruto. "

Naruto who was hiding behind a wall on the opposite side of the lobby gulped slightly at the proclamation to Iruka's intentions. Glancing at the scroll hidden in his shirt Naruto started to walk towards the training room.

Once he had gotten there he was annoyed, extremely so. Instead of the relative peace and quiet he expected countless Hyuuga were training all over the place. _Man what gives._ Naruto thought as his shoulders sagged. Instead of entering the arena he turned on his foot and tried his luck at the infirmary.

He should have realised

_Hyuuga_ **X** _(x) __Training _**_Full infirmary_**

As soon as he entered the infirmary he was overwhelmed with the many Hyuuga lying down on the beds complaining about something or another hurting them. Naruto smiled bitterly.

_Everyone's against me, I ha…Oh yeah that's right._ Naruto's bitter façade broke into a true smile as he turned on his foot and walked out to the grounds. As soon as he exited the shadow of the complex the bright sun hit his skin and warmth spread through his body. For a moment he stood there basking in it before continuing on to the gardens in search of the _hidden_ _place_ Aigyou had showed him all those months ago.

Trudging through thick bushes, walking around plantations of flowers in intricate patterns and trees aligned next to each other Naruto soon found his way to the pond. The bright sunlight shone down on the water and gave it a seemingly magical feel. Sitting down on the grass Naruto stretched then unravelled the scroll.

Whatever Naruto had been expecting it wasn't what he was seeing Instead of instructions to use the style it only showed the movement sequences. Unravelling the scroll further Naruto sighed in relief After all the pictures thee was a healthy amount of writing detailing each and every move.

_**Three hours later**_

Naruto was slowly alternating between the positions on the scroll. So far he could do two sequences within faulting them anyway. He wasn't able to move fast without faulting on one of the positions.

Naruto sighed. _It's going to be a long three months._ Naruto thought as he continued to slide through the positions.

* * *

_**Three months later**_

In front of Naruto stood Hanabi poised in the Gentle fist stance preparing to attack. Naruto himself was in the Severe Palm opening stance preparing to do his best. Hanabi graced Naruto with a small smile before she struck.

Hanabi's palm flew through the air between them. Just as her palm was about to connect Naruto had pushed his own palm against her wrist causing her to miss her target. In retaliation Naruto brought his other palm to Hanabi's shoulder releasing an uncontrolled burst of Chakra as his hand struck.

The Severe fist unlike the Gentle fist was now about precision. Instead it was about Strength and grace. Every movement made by someone using the Severe palm seemed like an awkward dance. When the Gentle fist aimed to damage certain points critically the Severe palm aimed at spread minor damage over a large part of the targets body.

As the battle raged on more and mores hits were taken by each side, But all the while Naruto had a smile on his face. Hanabi to a lesser extent had her lips quirking upwards as she struck Naruto's palm with her own. The direct contact left pain in both of the fighters. Although Hanabi to a lesser extent. The Chakra burst from both of their hands ended with the palms being pushed away from each other. Both fighters using the momentum to revolution turned around and slammed their other palms against each other. A loud crack was heard as the force behind the blows and the Chakra induced shockwave burst forth.

Ignoring the stinging pain in his palms Naruto continued to attack Hanabi. _Have to win…_ he thought desperately as he tried to keep up with her attacks. While it may have looked even once again the styles defied normal eyes. Naruto was taking heavy damage and slowing down every time Hanabi touched him. Hanabi on the other hand had been training outside the Hyuuga family with her new Genin team.

On the day she had come back from the Genin exam with her forehead protector Naruto congratulated her straight away happy for her. Hanabi just gave him an amused look which said he was being an idiot. The next day after she had come back from the 'Youthful test of Youth 'as her Sensei called it he asked her again how it went and who her team mates were.

She had told him she had Rock Lee a Taijutsu specialist who was weak. And Tenten Nolastrname. She had left it there but Naruto knew she was having fun with them, or at least Tenten.

A sudden pain erupted in Naruto's chest as Hanabi landed a direct hit on the middle of his chest. Crumpling to the ground Naruto clenched his fist as he tried to ignore the sharp pain rushing through his system.

"That's enough. " Hiashi said as he walked forwards. Hanabi hearing Hiashi's voice relaxed and slid out of the Gentle fist stance. Although he couldn't see it Hanabi was looking down at him with something akin to concern in her eyes.

Naruto wobbly got to his feet and kept his eyes on the ground mumbling.

"I'll get my stuff Hiashi-sama. " Under his breath.

Hanabi looked at Hiashi and Naruto confused for a moment before shrugging.

"No that won't be necessary. " Hiashi said after a few seconds. Naruto gazed up at him confused. "But you said… "Hiashi waved his hand dismissively. " I said if you failed to meet my requirements. You did quite well against Hanabi, You never had a chance to beat her. "Naruto had a sour look on his face at hearing that. Hanabi on the other hand was smiling proudly at the unexpected compliment.

"So, I can stay! " Naruto said loudly, his eyes shining with hope.

Hiashi nodded with a small smile on his lips "You're dismissed Naruto, Hanabi. " Both Naruto and Hanabi bowed to Hiashi before leaving the training arena. As they walked side my side to their rooms they stayed in silence

"Naruto-kun. " Hanabi said suddenly as they reached their rooms...

Naruto almost tripped over at the suffix she added to his name. "Hanabi? "

Hanabi smiled to him softly and said. "You have good form. "before walking into her room, Throwing him one last amused look before closing the door. Naruto stood outside in the corridor for a few seconds more before shaking his head and walking into his room mumbling.

"Troublesome girls. "

* * *

_**Midnight**_

Naruto silently stuck out of his room and down the corridors. Slowly but surely managing to avoid the various patrols around the complex he made it outside. Before now he wouldn't have dared it. But he had been there for more then a year No one would question him now.

Now out in the gardens Naruto slowed down It didn't matter if he hid now. The Hyuuga's had their Byakugan activated and he would only attract their attention if he tried to hide. Slipping through the bushes surrounding the _Hidden place_ Naruto heard something.

At first it was barely above a whisper but the closer he got to the pond the louder it became. It was a girl's voice.

_Your kindness wash away, _

Attached to you I shine,

You may not say you love me too.

Desires you wash away,

You appear to shine,

I cannot say you love me.

_(1)_

As the girl continued to sing Naruto slowly crept closer hoping not to disrupt the song. Just as he was near the edge of the pond. **Snap.** He stepped on a branch.

The girl stopping singing as soon as she heard the noise. She quickly turned around. In the lack of light from the moon Naruto was hard pressed to see her face. She slowly rose from the Bank and walked towards him. Naruto was slightly nervous but as she stepped close enough to see he realised, It was Hanabi.

Whatever relief he would have had vanished as She struck her hand against his chest and grabbed his shirt pulling him close to her. Even in the darkness Naruto could tell her eyes were narrowed in anger. Anger obviously directed at him.

"If you tell anyone I will tear you limb from limb. " She hissed out, pulling him closer to emphasise the point. Naruto quickly nodded. Seeing his confirmation of hearing her words Hanabi let Naruto go and returned to the bank of the pond.

Naruto stood there for half a minute more before she spoke again.

"You don't need an invitation to sit down. " Hanabi said her voice underlined with a tone of annoyance. Naruto didn't need telling twice. He stepped onto the bank and sat down next to Hanabi leaving a space the size of himself between them.

"Do you come here often? " Naruto asked as he gazed at the ripples crawling across the surface of the pond carried by the wind.

Instead of answering orally Hanabi just nodded. Soon they settled into a comfortable silence. After a while Naruto could not stand it anymore.

"Why do you call your sensei and team-mate 'The Unholy Eyebrow Duo '?" Naruto asked curiously. Hanabi chuckled lightly for a moment before turning to Naruto.

"Once you meet them…you'll find out. "She said with a small smile on her lips.

* * *

**(1) Something I translated It goes.**

_Hoshi ga nagareru  
Tsuki ga kagayaku  
You may not say you love me too_

_Hoshi ga nagareru  
Tsuki ga kagayaku  
I cannot say you love me too_

**If I made a mistake tell me. it's track ten from the second Hellsing Sound track.**

* * *

**Dairokkan – Actually it is a father reason. XD**

**Drolkrad – Secrets. The Pairing isn't necessary right now they are only 10/11 years old. I update every day! Just realised you reviewed twice in a row, I like you. Ha ha. Yeah the pervert village sounds like a good slapstick humour story it most likely will make it. Naruto can't use techniques which require hand seals. And he has to do everything the hard way.**

**madnarutofan – Got it in one. But, who said anything about Naruto beating Kisame? Wooh, Got you thinking haven't I? Perhaps Naruto will never be able to beat Kisame. Or will he? Time will tell That and me. Extreme Taijutsu is a No-no. To tell the truth I have an entire list of the styles Naruto will have in this story. . Or rather over the course of this story. I'll tell you this though; At the end of the story Naruto will have three S rank techniques.**

**Anti-Thule – Ah alright. But you reviewed anyway, Thanks. **

**

* * *

**

**2. Heaven Denies**

**_I've stained the land  
Millenniums I've prayed  
Now I know there's no release_**

**_Since paradise is lost  
I hold a crown  
I know your name  
But I am just your  
Fallen angel of doom_**

**_pre-chorus:  
Thus heaven denies  
Refused for all times  
I am not guilty at all_**

**_chorus:  
Dead lands, Wastelands  
Darkness will cover my mind  
And oblivion shall reign  
I made up my mind  
And oblivion shall reign through the night  
Dead lands, Wastelands  
Darkness will cover my mind  
And oblivion shall reign_**

**_Still we are one, you and I  
Realize, I did what you wanted me to_**

**_The lack of pure souls and the fading light  
It's me you blame_**

**_First there was light  
Then came the night  
Cruel nothingness_**

**_pre-chorus_**

**_chorus_**

**_Hope turns to despair  
There's no one in these barren lands  
The lust for light  
I'm sure that it will fade  
It will fade  
Spiritus Sanctus  
The lust for light  
I'm sure that it will fade  
Spiritus Sanctus_**

**_Eternal hell_**


	7. SS:Legend of Hinatas Bedroom

**Slowly but surely my brain is slowly adapting to the process in which I write. Instead of just one today I am gracing you with two chapters, this being the second one. Consider it an 'I'm sorry' Gift because of the week of tests I have starting on Tuesday.**

**In Retrospective it wasn't a great idea to spend the last week of the holidays creating a story. It would have been better wasted studying (yeah right) Studying in my eyes is cheating. If you don't already know it then it's your own fault.**

**But then again my view on the world is absolutely warped. Or so says the fortune cookie.**

_**I am the angel I am madness  
I am the word I am the law  
I am holding truth release your sadness  
I am the key I am the door**_

**Demons and Wizards: Crimson King**

* * *

_**Eleven years, Six months after accident.**_

Naruto collapsed forwards in front of Hiashi, sweat pouring off his uncovered skin. Over the past three months he had started to learn the _special_ techniques of the Hidoi Hira. So far he had reached the mastery of two of them. **Jitsuryokukoui Joukai **and **Hazama dashihoudai**. Anything less for Hiashi was a disgrace to the style. Thus After each month Hiashi had Naruto show him how far he had progressed with the techniques.

At first Naruto had thought attaining mastery of the Pre-Konoha style would have been a cinch. But at the end of the last two months his pride had been beaten down. He no matter how hard he tried never got the Mastery on time. The closet he had come to attaining it with was what he was learning now.** Fukushaten Enjou**. The technique revolved around containing a large amount of Chakra around a limb and striking the target. The Mastery was shown when instead of the novice flaming hand effect which incidentally Naruto thought looked cool, A glowing sheath of Chakra coated the hand.

So far Naruto had managed to contain most of the excess Chakra it gave his hand the impression that it was conducting electricity as small lines of Chakra tried to escape but were drawn back to the main Chakra source.

"Again. " Hiashi demanded as he saw Naruto had gotten his second wind. Naruto nodding slowly rose to his feet and faced the boulder he was meant to be attacking. All over the boulder various slashes were apparent all over the front of it. Striking his right hand outwards he pulled Chakra from his inner coils and directed it into his hand.

Naruto's right arm suddenly was bathed in the soft blue glow of flowing Chakra. And Just as it appeared the soft blue glow changed violently. The Once soft blue was slowly changing into a bright lightning like blue. The Chakra flowing from his shoulder suddenly stopped and the glow drew inwards to Naruto's hand. Once the final surge of Chakra was located in his Palm the glow changed again. But unlike the last time it changed in shape, Not Colour. Surrounding his hand was a field of lightning like energy spiralling around his flat hand.

Naruto flexed his Fingers open and the lightning dancing over his hands surface expanded slightly before Contracting onto his hand. Just as the Chakra was about to fit onto his spread out fingers Naruto pressed them together again, And the Chakra continued to recede until only a thin bright layer of Chakra was visible over his hand. Charging at the Boulder Naruto cocked his right arm as he prepared to strike the boulder.

"**Fukushaten Enjou!**" Naruto shouted as he slammed the side of his hand against the boulder.

**Buzz.**

The side of Naruto's hand scraped against the boulder and tore a thin chunk of it off in the shape of a slash. The Chakra around Naruto's hand slowly started to lose focus again and turned into a mini electrical storm. Glancing to Hiashi he saw a frown of disproval on his face.

"Again. "

Naruto sighed longingly for the Academy as he released the Chakra. _The things I do for my dream. Being an Anbu better be worth it. _Naruto thought as he prepared to gather the released Chakra once again

_**Five hours, three minutes, thirty seven seconds later**_

Drawing shuddering breaths Naruto was leaning against the boulder which he had for the past six hours been trying to destroy. Shakily he reached up and patted one of the few undamaged patches of rock that was still visible.

"We've been through a lot you and me Aite (1). " Sighing softly Naruto reached up to the heavens and stretched his body. He flinched slightly as one of his shoulders almost popped out of it's socket. Sliding down onto the ground from his sitting position, Naruto folded his arms underneath his head and decided it was time for a nap.

And it was in that position a few minutes later Hinata found him in.

"Naruto-kun? " Hinata asked quietly as she saw his sleeping form on the ground beside a boulder scratched to the point of oblivion beside him.

_Naruto-kun you shouldn't fall asleep out here. A number of bad things could happen. You could be eaten by a wolf! Or a Bear! I had better take you inside so nothing bad happens to you. _Hinata reasoned in her mind. _But he might be angry about being moved and he looks so cute._ After her last thought she blushed slightly.

Finally after three minutes of mental war from the two sides of her mind she decided to risk it and kneeled down beside him. Taking hold of her Chakra she pushed it into her muscles. After flexing her fingers a bit to get use to the feeling Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto's waist and lifted him up, Holding him with both of her hands.

Slowly Hinata walked towards the Hyuuga household careful not to wake Naruto up. Once she reached the house she set Naruto down against a wall to take another look at him. Giggling she noticed a slightly pouting look had formed on his face. Frowning Hinata looked at his hands, _Why are they so red?_ She wondered Deciding not to take a chance Hinata picked Naruto up again before making her way to her mothers Infirmary.

"Mother! " Hinata called out loudly as she entered the infirmary Naruto snuggled against her in her arms. Walking further into the infirmary Hinata looked around for her mother but found no sign of her.

"Mother…?" Hinata asked again as she dropped Naruto gently onto one of the medical beds in the room. A large shadow over took Hinata from behind. Hinata froze paralysed with fear before turning around slowly to come face to face with (Gasp!) her mother.

"DON'T DO THAT! " Hinata yelled forgetting herself for a moment. Imminently afterwards she blushed red and covered her mouth with both her hands. Quickly she turned to check if she had woken up Naruto, but to her satisfaction he remained asleep. Turning back to her mother Hinata noticed the curious look she was giving his hand.

"I found him outside sleeping next to a boulder. It had scratches and slashes all over it. I think he was training, But I'm not sure. I saw his hand and since he was asleep I decided to bring him here. "Aigyou nodded at Hinata's explanation before Glancing to the window. _It's night time_.

Aigyou turned to Hinata achieving 'Mothering Mode'. "And what were you doing outside? How many times do I have to tell you that you shouldn't go outside after dark! What if a missing-nin came and kidnapped you! "

Hinata guilty looked down at the floor nodding as her mother continued to rant. _I guess it was a bit foolish of me, But Naruto-kun!_

"Now please leave Hinata, I Have sterilise the wound. " Hinata nodded not listening completely to what her mother said and walked out of the infirmary. Aigyou watched in amusement as Hinata left the infirmary door open.

_Why was she outside? I wonder._

Sighing she turned back to Naruto and began the quick and easy treatment.

* * *

_**The next morning.**_

Yawning tiredly Hanabi sat up in her bed glancing to the window she saw it was still dark. Slowly she slid her sheets off her body and stepped onto the ground shivering as the soles of her feet touched the cold floor boards. Opening her mouth again she released another yawn before rubbing the back of her hands against her eyes as a bit of sleep started to itch.

_The mornings are a pain._ She thought idly and she grabbed her clothes for the day and opened the door to her room. A cold blast of air rushed onto her and caused her to shiver once again. "Stupid wind. " Hanabi mumbled as she tip toed down the hall way to the bathing rooms.

Just as she was about to enter the women's side of the bathing area she felt the familiar rush of Chakra associated with battle. Quickly changing from her nightclothes into her Day clothes Hanabi walked into the training room and was surprised to see Naruto using the Hidoi Hira in combination with another technique.

Moving closer Hanabi watched in fascination as Naruto executed the Hidoi Hira more fluently then she had ever seen him. Although she had only seen him use the form once she was still surprised how vastly he had improved.

"Naruto-kun. "She said softly not raising her voice at all. The air unmoving in the Training arena carried her voice to Naruto's ears with ease. Stopping Naruto turned his head towards her and smiled before waving. "Hey Hanabi-Chan! "He called out. Smiling to herself Hanabi walked towards Naruto and stopped just before him.

"Naruto-kun…" she murmured softly.

Naruto looked at her weirdly before questioning. "Yeah? "

"Fight me. " She said excitedly before lashing both of her hands out to his body, Naruto not expecting the attack at all could only jump backwards to avoid her hands. Just as he landed on the ground Hanabi rushed at him again attacking him with vigour. A smile found its way onto Naruto's face as he parried her palm with his own and sent a burst of Chakra into her arm dulling its nerves.

Ignoring the slight fault in her arm Hanabi continued to strike at Naruto and in turn landed several direct strikes in succession on his arms. Wincing slightly Naruto blocked both of her palms with his own, clasping his fingers with hers and holding them both in a deadlock.

Scowling Hanabi tried to break her hands away from his and succeeded as she sent a burst of Chakra through the Tenketsus on the tips of her fingers into his knuckles. Using the moment's disadvantage of Naruto to her Advantage Hanabi slammed her palm into Naruto's chest sending a mild burst of Chakra into him.

Once again Wincing Naruto jumped back and saved his warms wildly in front of him " I surrender! " he said quickly continuing to wave his arms until Hanabi relaxed which came soon afterwards. A small smile appeared on her lips as she began to rub the arm he had hit at the beginning of the fight.

"What was that technique you used? " Hanabi curiously asked Naruto. "My arm unlike last time is numb instead of pained. What did you do? "Hanabi demanded to know.

"**Furui banrai**. " Naruto said proudly. Hanabi simply perked a brow to him.

"My arm isn't shaking. "She said flatly.

Naruto snorted lightly before retorting. "Of course it isn't I didn't want to damage your nerves. " _That and I haven't mastered it yet._

Hanabi's mouth shape into a slightly 'O' before closing again. Silenced reign for a few minutes Hanabi was thinking. 'The_ soft idiot. ' _

Naruto on the other hand..._ 'Alright! She's impressed with my awesome skills._ Naruto started to scratch the back of his head and laugh. Hanabi frowned slightly as she mumbled.

"Idiot. "Before walking out of the training area and into the Bathing area to have a shower. Naruto just shrugged lightly and turned back to the dummy and began to practice **Furui banrai** on it..

* * *

_**Before Breakfast**_

Walking into the dining room Naruto was surprised to find Neji sitting across from Hinata glaring at each other unblinkingly. Sliding into a chair beside Neji Naruto remained silent for a minute before leaning to his ear and whispering.

"Neji did you know If I do this Hinata-sama will get curious and blink? "

Just as he predicted Hinata's eyes burned with curiosity. And Minutes later her left eye twitched and she burst. "Tell me what you said! " She demanded violently brandishing a fork towards Naruto. Naruto was the picture of innocence, holding his hands on his lap and smiling at Hinata.

"I have no idea what you mean Hinata-sama. "He said his voice radiating sincerity. Twitching Hinata flung the fork towards Naruto's head aiming for his forehead. Naruto had guessed something like this would happen and raised his hand to block it in advance. Next to him Neji was trying his hardest to hold a straight face but sadly his resolve broke when Hinata threw the fork at Naruto. A small chuckle broke out from his mouth.

Suddenly Hinata changed tactics. "Naruto-kuuuun. "She said dragging out the 'uh' sound. Pouting softly Hinata placed her hands on the table and said innocently.

"It's alright, I will just tell Father that you played a trick on me. " Naruto to that just gaped before assuring Hinata he had said nothing at all.

"I didn't say anything at all! "

Turning to Neji he asked for confirmation. "Right Neji? Hey Neji get back here! "Neji was already up and away running from the Breakfast table. Naruto thrust his hand towards Neji sending a passive wave of Chakra surging trough the air ten times as fast as he was moving. "Kuuden** Hoorudo! **" Naruto snarled as he solidified his Chakra around Neji's body freezing him in his position for a moment before dragging the Chakra encased Neji back through his the use of his Chakra.

"Tell her Neji! " Naruto pleaded pointing to Neji.

"Fine, Fine! He didn't say anything He only did that so you would blink. "As Neji had started to confess to Naruto's innocence Naruto had let the Kuuden Hoorudo slip off Neji so he could walk away. By the time He had finished Neji had already run away again.

Sighing lightly Naruto reigned himself to his fate. "Hinata-sama please forgive me? "He asked softly activating through the magic of Chakra**_ Glittering eyes Technique._** Sadly for Naruto Hinata had built up immunity to the technique and just smiled at Naruto deviously, A Look frightening on Hinata's face. More so then any of Hanabi's 'I'mgoingtobreakyou' smirks of superiority.

Unable to hold the Façade any longer Hinata broke down into chuckles and smiled at Naruto teasing him. "You're forgiven, But only because You're going to clean my room for me. "

Smiling in relief Naruto bowed to Hinata and murmured. "Thank you. "before realising what she had said. A few choice curse words almost escaped from his mouth as he realised the severity of what he had just gotten himself into. Hinata's room was a Legend among Branch house members men were known to enter and leave mentally scared murmuring " Teddy bears. " for days on end before finally snapping out of it and point blank saying no to what had happened inside. A representative from the Branch house had gone to Hiashi and asked for him to forbid Hinata from ever letting anyone into her room besides her.

Hiashi agreed but left a loophole. If anyone agreed at any point to cleaning Hinata's room they would have to do it **alone**. Shivering slightly in fear Naruto could only count down until Hinata decided it was time to clean her bed room.

_I have to find a way to get out of this, Hiashi won't help Neji has run away that leaves only two people and one **it**. Guard, Aigyou-sama and **It**._ Naruto thought as he began to eat. Glancing to the other end of the table he spied Guard. _I have to ask him now._

Excusing himself from the table Naruto bowed to Hinata and departed for the other end of the table. Soon he was behind Guard and tapped him on the shoulder trying to get his attention. "Psst Guard. "he stage whispered attracting the surrounding Hyuuga's attention.

"What Naruto? " Guard asked as soon as he swallowed his mouth full of **Chocolate Kunai's** Laughing lightly Naruto asked him straight up. "Do me a favour? " Guard turned to face him and stared him directly in the eye. Not willing to take the chance Naruto activated **_Glittering eyes Technique_** full power on Guard. Guard having never felt the power of the Technique before fell into a half trance.

"Yeah sure whatever. " _Kiraboshi-Ai Success_ thought Naruto proudly as he got Guard to agree to helping even if he didn't know what it was he would going to do.

"What do you need me to do? "asked Guard through a mouthful of the chocolate cereal. Naruto shrugged slightly. "Hinata-sama wants me to clean her room you're helping. " A spray of white and brown erupted from Guards Mouth as he heard the name Hinata and room in the same sentence.

Standing up quickly Guard turned to face Naruto and begun his rant.

"ARE YOU MAD! DO YOU WANT TO GET ME KILLED! PROTECTING THE MAIN GATE IS DANGEROUS ENOUGH; DO YOU THINK I WANT TO DIE SO YOUNG IN MY LIFE! I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND AND THEN YOU GO AND DO THIS! "Guard at the end of his rant was left slightly out of breath and with a petrified Naruto for a few seconds.

"You don't understand Guard! She already tricked me into it; At least if we both go one of us can save the other from whatever's in there! "Naruto reasoned, Guard had already agreed to help cleaning so Naruto just had to calm him down.

_He won't be able to help if he has a panic attack_ thought Naruto despairingly as he continued to try and calm Guard down. After calming him down sufficiently by not mentioning Hinata's name or her room Naruto brought Guard outside for a nice soothing Man to boy Chat.

_**Three minutes later**_

"And That's how the Birds and the Bees go. " Guard finished as he took a sip of water from the glass eh had brought outside. Naruto simply nodded although on the inside he was about to tear his hair out. _Guard just gave me the Birds and the Bees talk; I think I'm going to throw up!_ Naruto made a sudden lunge forwards as if he was going to expel stomach waste through his mouth. But instead of liquid all he got was air. A loud burp tore through the serene atmosphere.

Guard quirked an eyebrow to Naruto before Stretching and laying down on the grass. Naruto followed suit and they both laid motionless staring up at the clouds in silence.

"Does that cloud look like a spoon to you? "asked Naruto absentmindedly raising an arm to point to the cloud which had caught his eye. Guard simply made an 'Mhm' noise to confirm his view on the cloud.

"Are you ready to help me clean Hinata's room? " Guard not paying attention to Naruto fully Mhm'ed again before realising what had been said. A fear instilling scream echoed throughout the Hyuuga complex making every Hyuuga no matter what they were doing to look up and shiver.

_"The poor soul must have been attached by a wolf."_

_"Dammit! I bet it was another of those stupid Aburame trying to steal insects from our flowers."_

_"Mommy did someone just go to heaven?"_

_"I'm not sure dear."_

Were a few of the responses to the scream. Surprisingly no one came to investigate

* * *

Review to tell me If you want me to include the Hinata's bedroom scene next or skip it, You have seven hours from when I post this to tell me or I will skip it.

_**(1) Aite : Companion**_

**ChaosRonin – Enjoy the quick updates while you can after tomorrow I have school again and will most likely only update once every two days. But because I am OMG HAX nice I can officially promise that if the word count per chapter drops below 3000 I am going to stop at that point and rewrite it.**

**Yo – Welcome, The new path isn't going to be kept as such. After this it will be the Genin exams and follow quite closely the normal scenarios except different reactions and such. Explanation Dialogue for me is annoying to write. Hopefully this one was a bit better. I eagerly await your next Review.**

**Edengrave – Thanks, in this story Naruto is unable to use any seals to direct his Chakra flow, He has to do it all manually. Theoretically he could do minor Justus's But that would take him a long time to learn the proper actions. So No Kage Bunshin not for a while. Can you imagine him trying to do an S-ranked hand seal technique? It would take him years just to get one technique down.**

**Sorry man. You'll like what he can do I promise. If the promise is broken, I will Blink a thousand times! And If I can't do that I will get a Drink! And If... Well you get the idea.**


	8. SS:Teddy Bear Terror

**This chapter and last were not in the original plot-line, But because I have a disregard to any sort of authority, Even my own apparently. I am going to just go with the natural flow of ideas. The short awaited Hinata's death trap is finally here!**

**I just watched Naruto episode 103, sadly the best thing about it is the opening credits. That and the Grass Nin's from the Chuunin exam, they are the Shiznitch. Is the third one blind? He seems so. And the Leader it isn't any wonder he wears a mask, He's Fug ugly. **

**I paused it when Naruto was about to Punch Kabuto and what do I see? I see him looking into Naruto's eye and smiling. Freaky. An interesting thing is Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade are standing back to back with Naruto included, what exactly does that signify? That they are all on the same level?**

**Anyway I ended up watching the Opening Credits more then the entire episode.**

**Also, Am I the only person who realised that the four animals were trying to create the Nazi party sign! CONSPIRACY! ALL THE ANIMALS ARE NAZI PARTY MEMBERS!**

_**Freedom does not exist as an external truth. It exists inside men, and those who wish to be free are free.**_

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_**Outside The death tra-I mean Hinata's room.**_

In front of Naruto and Guard loomed the ominous pure white door of Hinata's room. Looking behind him Naruto saw Guard in a shivering wreck cowering on the floor in the sight of the entry to _Hinata's room._ Naruto himself was feeling slightly uneasy. Before when he and Guard had been on their way to the room he had reasoned Hinata was a sweet and kind girl. She wouldn't keep any kind of demon or anything that could traumatise him or his unwilling accomplice.

Just as Naruto reached forwards to grasp the handle and open the door he felt a trembling hand on his shoulder. Guard shakily drew breath before stepping up beside Naruto staring at the door with fear on the surface of his eyes.

"Naruto… if we don't make it know this. Since you've come here I have started to see you as the little brother I never had. And if we do make it I am going to kick your ass. "Guard said as he knocked Naruto's hand off the door handle and grasped it with his own hand. Slowly he turned the handle and pushed the door open.

All that they could see inside the room was molten darkness. Peering through the veil of darkness Naruto could make out a large yellow eye on the far side of the darkness. It seemed Guard had also noticed the surreal eye beyond the veil as he had once again started to shake violently. Laughing nervously Naruto slapped Guard hard on the back propelling him forwards into the shadows.

Just as Guard was about to pass through the shadows he grinded to a halt an inch away from the point of no return. At first he had screamed but as he had managed to stop before hitting the shadows it turned into a hallow laugh. Turning around Guard faced Naruto and glared at him.

"Pushing people is a bad habit! " He chastised as he waved a finger from side to side at Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened significantly as Guard continued to wave his finger. Unknown to Guard a silhouette of a hand bathed in shadows was reaching out to him. Naruto trying to warn Guard pointed behind him moments before the hand struck. Clutching onto the back of Guards shirt it dragged him closer to the shadows.

A short cut off scream echoed from guard's lips moments before an uncountable amount of hands tore out from the shadows and grabbed a hold of Guards body dragging him into the shadows agonisingly slow. Staring in shock Naruto blinked before slowly backing away from the door and turning on his foot to begin walking away from his impending doom.

Just as he took a step Naruto felt something tug on his foot. Glancing down his eyes widened as he found a shadowy hand attached to his ankle. Trying to jerk it off Naruto kicked his foot hard, The shadow anticipating the resistance pulled Naruto off his footing and caused him to fall to the ground.

Naruto immediately screamed out as he clawed at the ground, the shadowy hand was slowly dragging him into Hinata's room. Slowly his body was being bathed in shadows until his upper body only remained visible. Grasping the frame of the door Naruto struggled to pull himself out of the shadows. Slowly Naruto's muscles reached breaking point and he was dragged screaming into the shadows with a look of pure terror upon his face.

* * *

_**An unknown amount of time later**_

Guard slowly opened his eyes allowing them to adjust to the light levels or rather the lack of. Glancing around him he could see nothing but darkness. Deciding to take his chances in the darkness He set out on a journey to find his way back to the world from whence he came. After a few minutes of walking futilely guard had had enough taking a deep breath he readied his lungs for-

"NAAAAARRRUUUTTTTOOOOO! " Guard screamed as loud as his vocal cords could handle. Soon afterwards he regretted his actions as his voice cracked and faded. _Okay yelling into the darkness Ba-Good idea. _His thoughts changed as they went, For in front of him lied a person and not just any person, A yellow haired person.

"Naruto! " Guard croaked out as he ran forwards to Naruto. As he reached his side he fell onto his knees and rocked him gently. "Wake up you idiot! "Whispered Guard as he pushed Naruto roughly. That had done it; Naruto's eyes snapped open the familiar ocean blue staring up into space.

"Am I dead? "Asked Naruto weakly. Guard managed to laugh lightly before shaking his head. "I don't think death is this dark. " Guard said truthfully. Naruto slowly pushed himself out of his lying position and into a sitting one glancing around in the darkness before looking at Guard.

Suddenly a low buzzing sound found it's way to both of their ears. "Do you- "Guard started but was cut off as Naruto made a soft shushing noise. Both of them strained their ears to pick up the noise and it slowly grew louder.

_If you go down to the bedroom today, you're sure of a big surprise  
if you go down to the bedroom today; you'd better go in disguise._

Glancing to each other Naruto and Guard both visibly shivered the voices composing the sounds were singing emotionlessly.

_For every bear that ever there was, Will gather there for certain, because  
Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic._

There it was again, Slowly Naruto and Guard rose to their feet and stood back to back unwilling to allow any chance for surprisal.

_Every Teddy Bear who's been bad, Is sure of a treat today.  
There are lots of marvellous humans to eat, and fighting games to play_

Whimpering both Naruto and Guard moved closer to each other as the tempo slowly became louder and faster.

_Beneath the darkness where nobody sees, they'll hide and hunt as long as they please  
'Cause that's the way the Teddy Bears have their picnic_

In the shadowy distances hundreds of small red dots slowly faded into view and grew in size. Involuntarily taking a step back they hit each other and turned around, violently sliding into their separate fighting style positions. At seeing each other they both relaxed slightly.

_If you go down to the bedroom today, you'd better not go alone  
its lovely down in the bedroom today, But safer to stay at home._

Both Naruto and Guard in syntonisation turned their heads towards the eyes and voices again. Slowly a large amount of small silhouettes broke through the darkness. How it was possible nether Naruto, Guard nor the Author knew, but they did.

_For every bear that ever there was, Will gather there for certain, because  
Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic._

Guard made a small whimpering sound. As the teddy bears advanced on them turning to Naruto and clung to his leg spewing out random words in his state of pure terror.

" I can handle dangerous missing-nin's who can kill me in a second, I can handle demonic forces hell bent on killing me, I CAN HANDLE GUARDING THE HYUUGA XOMPLEX FROM OTUSIDERS BUT I CANNOT HANDLE TEDDY BEARS! " Screamed Guard as he released Naruto's leg and curled up into a ball a third the size of his normal height. Naruto glared at him mildly annoyed before remembering they were about to be eaten by carnivorous stuffed animals.

_Picnic time for Teddy Bears, The little Teddy Bears are having a lovely time today  
Watch out for them, they'll catch you unawares, And see you as the picnic on their holiday._

Growling loudly Naruto slid into the Hidoi Hira opening stance baring both of his palms to the furry possessed little bears. "You may be a bunch of possessed toys, BUT I'M UZUMAKI NARUTO! " Naruto declared as he charged forwards at the bears igniting both his hands with the **Fukushaten Enjou**.

Just as Naruto got within range of the teddy bears a massive wave of them rose up from behind the beginning of their ranks and crashed down on top of Naruto. Blocking most of the bears with his Chakra guarded hands Naruto slowly began the systematic destruction of the toys tearing their furry backsides apart with the power of the **Fukushaten Enjou(2)**.

A scream from behind him found Naruto's ears causing him to turn his back on the multitude of still moving teddy bears._Damn!_ Naruto thought Naruto as he saw the Teddy bears quickly cover Guard from heard to toe. Just as Naruto was about to save Guards ass a pile of Bears surrounded his feet and held them together causing him to fall forwards.

Naruto could only watch in horrid shock as the Bears around Guard slowly slid off to reveal…NOTHING! _They… ate him? _Thought Naruto in shock. The shock soon transcended to anger as he took in the information.

_A large bunch of Teddy bears just ate the first cool Hyuuga I ever met._

The anger rose to new heights as the bears which just devoured Guard turned on him their Beady little red eyes staring lifelessly at him. The Anger Transcended to Rage as Naruto Released a large surge of Chakra from all over his body shredding the bear's surfaces.

Spinning around on his feet he shouted angrily. "**Ikari reriizu: Miiru gangu kurenzaa! (1) **"As he struck his hands outwards releasing the contained Chakra within them as he continued to spin creating a vortex of Chakra encircling his body. All the Teddy bears surrounding him as they touched the Chakra got swept up in the vortex surrounding Naruto, slowly getting torn apart.

Slamming his foot down Naruto stopped spinning and swayed from side to side woozily. Unlike the Hyuuga he had no way to counter balance the nausea gained by spinning for lengths of time. Just as he was about to celebrate his minor victory the pieces of the toys started to vibrate slightly.

Slowly a faint glow of red surrounded the pieces of the possessed toys. And to Naruto's shock and dismay they slowly began to gather at a point near him. Deciding he would rather live to fight another day Naruto turned on his heals and began to run the opposite direction of the bear pushing all his might into his legs he ran as hard and fast as he could.

Puffing slightly Naruto stopped he had been running for a while and had not once looked back, Deciding it was a safe distance away Naruto turned around.

"AHHHH! "Screamed Naruto as he stared into a pair of large red eyes on level with his own. Across from his was a humanoid teddy bear. All over the bears figure there were different patches of fur and different stitching to hold it all together.

Trembling slightly Naruto took a step back in fear before his resolve hardened and he stepped the foot forwards again. And slid into the Hidoi Hira preparing to fight for his life. The Patch work bears from now on known as Patches waved its arms around franticly. As if trying to get Naruto's attention.

"You want my attention? " Naruto snarled out rabidly. The bear seemed to nod quickly before raising its hands to Naruto.

"Well you got it! "Yelled Naruto as he struck forth with his Palms, slamming them both onto Patches chest causing it to stagger back wounded. Just as Naruto was about to follow up his assault a female scream tore through his ears momentarily deafening him. Across from Naruto Patches the Possessed Hell spawn bear clutched its big ears as well also in pain.

"My room! "Yelled the feminine voice. Just as it finished speaking the shadows around Naruto instantly lifted. Glancing around Naruto was surprised to find himself standing in the middle of an extremely messy room. Across from him he was happy to see was Guard.

"Guard! " "Naruto! " Both Naruto and Guard respectively yelled out and lunged at each other, hugging the other tightly as if they were going to disappear. "I thought you... "They both began but stopped soon afterwards as they interrupted each other. " You go said Naruto happily. "

"I thought you got turned into a bear! "Claimed Guard as he stepped away from Naruto. Naruto quirked an eyebrow at him at his exclamation before mumbling thoughtfully. "But that can't be right, I saw you get eaten by the bears. " Shrugging lightly Naruto smiled up at Guard.

"Who cares! "He stated cheerfully.

"ME! "Roared the voice again. Both Naruto and Guard snapped their heads towards the source of the voice and were surprised to see Hinata.

"Hinata-sama! You wouldn't believe what happened! MeandguardwereabouttocleanyourroombutthensomethinghappenedandwegottrappedindarknessthenabunchofteddybearsattackedusandidestroyedthemandthentheyreformedasabigteddybearandheattackedmeandthenitturnedouttobeGuardandIattackedhimandthenyouyelledandnowwearehere! "Naruto said without a single breath in between. Hinata simply gaped at him before asking him to repeat that slowly.

""Hinata-sama! You wouldn't believe what happened! Me and guard were about to clean your room but then something happened and we got trapped in darkness then a bunch of teddy bears attacked us and I destroyed them and then they reformed as a big teddy bear and he attacked me and then it turned out to be Guard and I attacked him and then you yelled and now we are here! "Naruto said again this time with a large amount of breaths in between.

Hinata nodded a few times considering everything Naruto said before once again screaming.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ROOM NARUTO!" wincing slightly at the volume of Hinata's voice Naruto looked around and was surprised to find the room as if a cyclone had torn through it and thrown everything everywhere.

"Whoa! No wonder you wanted us to clean your room… "Thought Naruto out loud without realising he was doing it. Hinata's left eye twitched slightly promising a future of pain.

"Naruto-**kun**, my bedroom was not ANYWHERE NEAR THIS MESSY! " Wincing again at the volume Naruto just nodded and begun cleaning up Hinata's room. Unknown to him or Hinata Guard was already sneaking out through the door way behind Hinata.

"Hey Guard-san! "Yelled an anonymous Hyuuga down the corridor. Freezing where he stood as Naruto's and Hinata's attention turned to him he resigned himself to his fate for the day.

" Accursed fate, you dare mock me?" he mumbled under his breath as he turned back to Naruto and Hinata laughing nervously before beginning to tidy up Hinata's room.

* * *

_**Five hours later**_

Hinata stood in her doorway admiring her Naruto and Guard cleaned room. Naruto and Guard on the other hand were lying down in the middle of the room trying to stay awake. Cleaning Hinata's room they decided if it ever made the Konoha roster would have to be classified an A rank mission at least.

According to Hinata she wanted to admire her now clean room alone, thus Naruto and Guard were kicked out of her room and were left to regain their energy in the hall way.

"Naruto? "Called Guard weakly.

Naruto simply made a 'Huh' sound in response as he snuggled against the ground.

"Let's never do this again. "He said before he himself lay on the ground and slowly drifted off to sleep. As he closed his eyes he heard a soft murmur of. "Never mention it again and I won't either. "

* * *

**Anger Release : Possessed Toy Cleanser**

**Radiant Point, Destruction by Fire**

**ChaosRonin - Thanks. I didn't skip it, Sorry. But did you like it anyway? That won't be for a while.**

**anti-Thule - I was suppose to be studying, But I don't study. You'll start complaining soon since I won't have anywhere near as much time to write.**

**madnarutofan - I already have the style down. Hidoi Hira's special attacks are based on the trigrams. and there are eight of them. Naruto has enough trust me. In the chapter before or last when he was attacking the Boulder, That's a weak **

**Chidori/Chakra scalpel. Expect the freakishly unexpected. You've never been in a little girl's room have you? Kyuubi kills quickly. the rooms take their time and pick your sanity apart!**

**kd8gun - Ha ha, Hinata and Hanabi won't really get along after the Chuunin exams.**

**Drolkrad - Don't hope you can update as quickly as me, I have a lot of freewhichissupposetobestudy time. I look forward to reading it. Naruto's abilities will be revealed as he needs them, or if I'm bored, You didn't know how right you got it, Until now. . Look forward not! Look here! For here it is! or was! It's up! Scroll up!**

**teamkyuubi13 - Done and done.**

**Master Chaos - There are a few Naruto and Hanabi pairings they are just very rare, But all the ones I have heard are pretty **

**good. Mr Surarrin doesn't sound right, I prefer Mega man. Not really. Call me Jon, For it is my name!**

**FairyQilan - Evil.**

**GMan - Hizashi wanted a girl. He used a Super secret technique which changed the child's gender before it was even born. I can explain that away by saying when they were children and got along they agreed that whoever had a boy had to name them Neji and whoever had a girl would name her Hanabi. In your face mr spoon! Also, Hizashi 'did' it during the day instead of night, Thus Hanabi was born. All of which are choices! Mauwhuawhawa, Jon logic strikes again!**

**Kisame Naruto For the first two parts of the story at least.**

**Fallen Dragon - Perhaps.**


	9. The Last Day

**Blarg, I couldn't study I have no urge to, But I had an urge to get this out. So I did. Sadly it took me six hours because I had not written a plotline for this nor had I considered any concept behind it.**

**I hope whoever is reading this enjoys it because alas, Tomorrow The real test begins, For both me and Naruto, Ha ha. Tomorrow is a weird word, I always end up typing it as Tom-morow for some reason, obviously it is wrong but It is a weird habit.**

**I created this story without an extremely clear relationship for Naruto to get into, But weirdly enough the way I have done all this has hinted towards Hanabi. I can't wait to see what happens when Naruto meets Sasuke again. Why do I say that? Because I haven't written down his reaction or anyone's reaction, Only what is supposed to happen.**

_**It's so sad you're so good and I'm so bad,**_

_**But you won't see me wasting the best thing I've ever had,**_

_**It's such a shame that I can't tell you anything,**_

_**You can't hear me but you endear me now.**_

_**Nine Days**_

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_**Day before the Genin exams.**_

Two figures could be seen lounging around outside the Hyuuga complex under a large tree in the gardens as the sun slowly made its path across the sky lazily. Yawning softly one of them stretched their arms back across the grass beginning to squirm before slowly settling back down. Gazing up at the sky Naruto and Hanabi watched as the clouds drifted around in their own world colliding with each other and coming out different because of it.

Pointing up to a pair of soon to be battling clouds Naruto asked Hanabi curiously, "Which one will win? " To which she just made a small 'Hn 'noise. After having slowly getting to know Hanabi Naruto had picked apart all her grunts, groans and small gestures leaving himself in a position where even by a simple noise like 'Hn 'he could decipher what Hanabi was saying.

"Out of those two clouds, which do you think will be less changed after they clash together and then break apart from each other? " Naruto asked again as he slowly rolled over onto his stomach and faced Hanabi or at least the top of her head. Hanabi remained silent a few minutes more before her lips parted and her insight was heard.

"The larger cloud will break apart the smaller cloud, and then once the small cloud is weakened the larger cloud will take the other cloud, but they will not break apart, not for a while if ever, they perhaps will disappear together. "

Hanabi continued to gaze at the sky not caring to take a glance to Naruto. Naruto on the other hand stared at Hanabi admiringly. _She always thinks of the future possibilities, I wish I could be like that._ Naruto thought moments before rolling back over onto his back and staring at the clouds.

Above them in the sky the clouds had finally crossed the final boundary between them and were joined. The smaller cloud was slowly pulled onto the larger cloud by the sheer attraction of the larger quantity of elements composing the larger cloud.

'_How cruel_. 'Naruto thought as he watched a few small wisps of the smaller cloud jettisoned off the cloud and floated away leaving the smaller cloud to fend for it's shrinking self. To Naruto's surprise the smaller cloud slowly began to break away but instead of its original mass it was half the size of its previous form.

A small chuckle was heard from behind him. Tilting his head backwards a small amount Naruto frowned. _Why laugh at the small cloud?_ He wondered bitterly before allowing his neck to bend back into its proper shape.

"You think I'm cruel don't you Naruto-kun? " Hanabi asked softly no trace of hurt or worry in her voice. Naruto shook his head from side to side lightly. "No not really. "

It was Hanabi's turn to roll over, after rolling over to her right Hanabi folded her arms under her chin and relaxed gazing at Naruto lightly. "Then why do you frown? "she asked mild curiosity colouring her voice. Just as Naruto was about to answer he paused, his mouth slightly open.

_Why do I frown? I frown because the way you point out the truth, It contradicts my truth, but they are both true...I frown because your way of seeing the world seems more right to me then my own does. And it concerns me that… _"You can see what lies underneath. More so then I will ever be able to. "Naruto finished out loud a slightly depressed look upon his face.

Hanabi's neutral facial expressed for a moment a small fraction of joy before shifting back into its normal place. _How nice of him._ Thought Hanabi before she removed her arm from under her chin and reached to Naruto's ear caressing it gently with the tips of her finger tips. Naruto who hadn't been expecting anything flinched lightly before he realised what she was doing. Slowly he began to relax as she continued to play with his ear. Smiling again Hanabi drew her finger into her palm before flexing it outwards again striking the ridge of Naruto's ear with her nail.

"Ow! " Naruto whimpered lightly as he moved one of his hands to his ear cupping it and protecting it from any further assault. "What was that for? "demanded Naruto as he rolled over and faced Hanabi. Glaring into her ever passive eyes Naruto found his resolve breaking.

Hanabi in turn shrugged her shoulders lightly before changing the subject. "Today…is your last day isn't it? "she asked furrowing her brow slightly as she waited for his response. Naruto's eyes widened slightly.

_Last day! It's been another year already? But it can't have been that long! Wait, that means the Genin exams are tomorrow. I will be one step closer to being an Anbu! But what about everyone here…Neji, Guard, Aigyou, Hanabi…Maybe I can get Hinata to give them messages now and then? No that would be disrespectful of me._

Hanabi's brow slowly lifted as she watched a brief flash of sadness pass over Naruto's eyes. _He didn't realise it? Or perhaps he does not want it._ Hanabi watched as Naruto's face broke out into a small smile.

"Yeah…" sighed Naruto.

"Cheer up. " Stated Hanabi calmly as she peered into Naruto's eyes. Naruto simply blinked. _How can she-_ "You cannot hide anything from me Naruto-kun. "she said softly as a small smile found its way to her lips. _Oh yeah well what if I me- _"If you touch my hair I will use you as my personal Punching bag. "She snarled as her eyes narrowed slightly.

Naruto paled slightly before his face broke out into a true smile.

" Hanabi-Chan…"

"Hn? "

"Thank you. "

"Hm. "

"Hanabi-Chan…"

"Hn? "

"I'll miss you. "

" You idiot I'm already a Genin we'll see each other a lot more then you think, If you pass. "

"Hn. "

"Ass. "

* * *

_**Later that day**_

"I'm telling you Neji, You're a man now! " Naruto exclaimed as he threw his hands up for emphasis.

Neji stared at him queerly. Eyeing the Bundle of mysterious objects in Naruto's hand curiously but at the same time warily. "What do I have to do? " Neji asked hesitantly. Before breaking out into a large smile at the sight of the contents of the bag after Naruto unwrapped the bag.

"And you're sure father will compliment me on this right? " Neji asked worriedly. As he slowly took a few of the Object in the bag and begun to set them up in a small design Naruto had drawn on the outside of the bag. Nodding quickly Naruto stated. "He'll be impressed with your trap making skills! "

Neji's face broke out into a smile as he begun in earnest to create the planed out trap. Five minutes later Neji was standing in front of a well devised and well hidden setup of deadly and lethal traps turned prank. If there was one thing Naruto had taught him it was that a visible trap wasn't a trap it was a roadblock. Neji had not understood what he had meant but assumed it was important.

Glancing up to Naruto he saw the older boy nod and give him a thumbs up. Glancing around the corner Naruto's eyes widened significantly. "Damn! He was suppose to be another two minutes! "he hissed as he grabbed Neji by the arm and dragged him through the door to Hiashi's 'office' In reality it was just a lounging area where Hiashi spent his time reading.

Pulling Neji with him behind the sofa Naruto ducked down quickly making sure to remain out of view, At least for the moment. Neji beside him sported a large grin as he waited for Hiashi to trigger his trap. Both the boys from the sides of the Sofa glanced to the door just as a shadow had fallen onto it.

Slowly the door creaked open to reveal Hiashi rubbing his temples in circular patterns. Just as Hiashi passed through the doorway he triggered the traditional trip wire activation cord setting the trap into Motion.

Snapping his head up Hiashi leaned to the right just in time to avoid a water bomb to the face, Behind him the wall exploded against the wall with a large splashing sound. A rustling from both of his sides prompted him to step backwards and just in time, From both of his sides a volley of water bombs fired exactly where he would have been.

Unfortunately for Hiashi the water bombs had been placed so that if they had been dodged they would still be felt. The water bombs collided with each other neutralising the force behind them and exploding as all the force expanded out from the centre spraying Hiashi with a good amount of water.

Growling slightly Hiashi stepped inside the room slowly making his way forwards looking around the room and floor for any more trip wires. Sadly for the Elder Hyuuga by looking down he missed the wire running across the middle of the room on level with his head.

Just as Hiashi felt the wire press to his forehead he stopped moving carefully moving backwards trying not to trigger whatever the wire was meant to set off, Unfortunately for him it was enough to cause the bucket above his head to slowly tip forwards and spill a small amount of the flour/small particles of sodium onto his body.

Grunting slightly Hiashi blew out from his nose and mouth creating a small cloud of white in front of his face. Naruto and Neji could not take it anymore simultaneously they both burst out into laugher and began rolling on the floor forgetting that they would be found and caught.

"NARUTO! NEJI! "Hiashi calmly spoke as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, which caused them both to laugh even harder. After a few minutes of laughing both Naruto and Neji slowly stopped and only chuckled occasionally.

"Explain yourselves. I assume you did this Naruto. "Hiashi stated neutrally, but In his eyes a small cloud of rage could be seen. Just as Naruto opened his mouth Neji interrupted.

"It was me father. "he said smiling lightly. A flash of surprise flashed across Hiashi's face. Normally it was Naruto who created and instigated the pranks. _You've been had by your own son._ He thought to himself before breaking out into a smile.

"Well done, The trap was set out so that even if the initial volley of projectiles was avoided they would compensate and still effect the target. Although I am quite curious about the use of flour, What purpose would it have had in a battle situation? "Hiashi calmly asked, his eyes set on Neji proudly.

Taking this as his que to exit Naruto slowly slid around the side of the room while Hiashi's attention was fully focused on his son. Just as he was about to make a clean get away Hiashi spoke up. "Naruto. "

Freezing in his tracks Naruto slowly turned around to face Hiashi and bowed.

"Hiashi-sama? "

Turning around to face Naruto Hiashi smiled down at him.

"I am very thankful for you teaching Neji about the proper way to execute traps and use them to their fullest potential. " At this point Naruto was blushing slightly and scratching the back of his head with a large smile upon his face. "But if I ever find out that you've lead him into pulling a stunt like this on me again I will Force you to withstand the greatest Chakra control exercise of all time. " He finished lightly glaring at Naruto.

Naruto's interest of aroused by the prospect of learning anything new about Chakra control. "What does it involve? "

Hiashi simply smiled down at Naruto before explaining.

"It involves me throwing you into an active volcano and you having to get out of the magma alive. "

Naruto's eyes widened considerably and he literally fled from the room. If he had stayed a small while longer he would have seen Hiashi break out into a smile and chuckle before looking down at Neji and giving him an appraising look.

"What else did you learn? "

And Neji smiled. A smile promising mental scarring.

* * *

_**In the Infirmary**_

"I don't need them! "exclaimed Naruto loudly folding his arms across his chest in defiance.

Aigyou across from Naruto glared down at him. "Chakra strings are useful! "she assured him.

Snorting slightly Naruto began to disagree.

"What do you mean! I can use **Kuuden Hoorudo** if I need to move something out of my reach! It's enough for me, I'm going to be attacking my enemies straight on, I'm not going to use weapons a lot so Blah to you! I bet a small blast of Chakra and the strings would break anyway. "Naruto as he finished turned on his heel emphasising that the argument was over and he would not be learning the Chakra strings technique.

Smiling lightly Aigyou countered his points.

"The **Kuuden Hoorudo** wastes more Chakra and is a lot more noticeable to your enemies. If you always attack your Enemies straight on, how do you know they won't attack you from behind? A properly formed Chakra string is capable of wist standing any Chakra blast any Non-Hyuuga or Non-specialist could deal out. And Besides, Who said I'm giving you a choice? "Aigyou smiled down at Naruto even more as she finished, raising her hand upwards and facing her finger tips down.

Just as Naruto turned around he felt a force on his limbs holding him still. Growling lightly Naruto focused a small amount of Chakra into his muscles trying to give them an advantage of whatever was happening to him, sadly it didn't work. Slowly his limbs felt like they were in his possession again. Quickly Naruto turned around and glared at Aigyou, who he was shocked to find was twitching her fingers ever so slightly.

Smiling down at Naruto still Aigyou contorted her fingers in a complicated pattern, And Naruto to his own surprise felt his arms rising upwards into the air.

"H-how did you do that? I broke them! "Naruto murmured bewilderedly as he watched his limbs moving of Aigyou's accord. Chuckling Aigyou let the Chakra strings connecting Naruto's limbs to her hand dissipate and allow him free movement again.

" I let you think you broke them, You were always in my control while I had them attached to you, Of course you'll never be able to do that, you don't have the control. " Aigyou mocked in an uncharacteristically way.

Naruto felt rage rise within him. Whatever she could do he felt he could do better. Although deep down inside he knew there were a lot of things Aigyou could do that Naruto would never be able to, or not at least for a great time. Deflating slightly after the rage had left him Naruto looked down at the ground sullenly.

A pair of arms wrapped around him and hugged him to Aigyou. Although slightly surprised at the contact Naruto unsurely relaxed his body. "Just learn it Naruto, you never know when being able to control delicate objects far away can be handy, besides. " Naruto glanced up at Aigyou as he heard the mischievous tone in her voice.

Leaning down to Naruto's ear she whispers cheekily.

"Think of all the pranks you could pull. "

The magic word had been said.

Naruto's eyes lit up at the prospect Aigyou had laid out for him. _I had never thought of it that way!_ He imagined with glee all the different traps he would be able to place with the help of both the **Kuuden Hoorudo **and the Chakra strings.

Aigyou at the sight of the look on Naruto's face wondered.

_Is it really a good idea to give him another aid in which he can use to create traps?_

Shrugging lightly she decided it wouldn't be her problem as long as Naruto did not choose to play any prank on her.

"Teach me! " Naruto's voice echoed throughout the silent infirmary.

Laughing lightly Aigyou poked Naruto on the nose and asked. "Are you sure you can learn this? I mean it's pretty high level stuff only a Genin and above would know! "Pouting lightly Naruto looked up at Aigyou with a frown upon his face.

"But, Aren't I stronger then a Genin yet?" Aigyou frowned down upon Naruto.

_Truthfully? You are lower Chuunin, but I don't want that to go to your head Naruto-kun._ Her frown turned into a smile as she placed her hand upon the top of Naruto's head and ruffled his hair lightly.

"Perhaps, It's only been two years, Imagine all the things the Academy students have already learned while you were away. " Naruto's eyes widened slightly. He hadn't thought of that, While he had been learning to control his Chakra the others had probably learned some super cool ninja techniques.

_I'll still beat them all_. Thought Naruto proudly as he gazed up at Aigyou with a small smile upon his lips.

"That's okay I've had fun here with everyone. I'll still beat them all though. "Naruto exclaimed. Poking Aigyou's stomach lightly he switched back to the original topic.

"So- teach me? " Naruto asked pleadingly resisting the urge to activate the **Kiraboshi-Ai** to persuade Aigyou to teach him. Smiling down at Naruto Aigyou nodded.

Naruto jumped up onto one of the beds and sat down transfixed upon Aigyou and her voice as she began to explain away the proper way to use and Maintain the Chakra string technique.

* * *

_**At the gates of the Hyuuga complex later that night**_

Both Guard and Naruto sat on the perimeter wall surrounding the front of the Hyuuga's property gazing out into the sky. Above them shining down innocently was the new moon in all of its glory.

"The last night. "stated Guard softly as he gazed into the distant darkness shivering involuntarily as a certain memory plagued him.

Nodding slightly Naruto murmured "Yeah…" before leaning back against the concrete wall under him. Smiling slightly as his eyes gazed up into the star speckled sky.

* * *

**I'd like to make a Hidden Thank you note to Fei-sama for the idea about the Volcano; although in her story it was just fire.**

**Yo - Thanks, I assume you mean "Troublesome girls. " It's what I would say to a girl who complimented me on my fighting style. It can't be deciphered either way...**

**Thanks again, I do not know what you mean; It might be a format error. After checking there is nothing wrong, Naruto just had a good nights sleep in the hospital. Hanabi just woke up so she wasn't thinking exactly straight. In large houses I find that the corridors are really cold, and since when doors are closed heat doesn't escape as easily. Well I am sure you get the gist of it. I have tiredness also or at least I have when I write this, School bus in like twenty minutes.**

**ChaosRonin - Me neither**

**Master Chaos - Mine is Jonathon, eh I can't be bothered searching for them, just put Naruto Hanabi, Naruhana etc in the search engine and it should come up with some, I think. It is my belief that if a young boy ever sleeps in a girls room which is full of teddy bears that the boy will be emotionally scarred I don't understand how girls can sleep while it feels like an army is watching you. I'm sorry but I am on a Diet it forbids any-type of Virtual snack, Ha ha.**

**TGB - Ninjutsu just means Ninja techniques. It is used to describe a large variety of techniques a Ninja can execute. Since Naruto's moves don't fit into that lets create a new name for his attacks. _Enejutsu_. Ene means Energy and Jutsu Means Technique, _Energy technique_. So instead of using Ninjutsu Naruto uses Enejutsu which is pretty much all the cool parts of the world. Ha ha.**

**Wizard Surreal - When I get back from school I will put an SS in front of their chapter names and then once I finish the story I will remove them edit them and make them a proper side story okay? I remind you of Anko? I'm flattered, I really am, she is my Role model in the Narutoverse. **

**Rasengan level 3 is an A rank technique. I hope you understand what I mean. Or what I am hinting to.**

**Reference to the Chidori, from my view Raikiri is the mastered form of Chidori, I doubt Chidori has enough power to cut through lightning with it. And Rasenraikirigan (Spiral Lightning edge gun) is a common concept.**

**Hanabi was born from Hizashi Hinata and Neji were born from Hiashi in this story. I don't take any offence at all from curiously correcting reviews.**

**Chief316 - Thanks, Sadly it won't keep up like that, or it might but yeah, depends on how easy I find my maths and science tests tomorrow (Tuesday). Another thanks to telling me what it meant. **

**madnarutofan – Perhaps, My ideas are too obvious.**

**Jester12 – It's okay the teddy bears are dead now...Or are they?**

**Casadilla - Hope it isn't me**

**FairyQilan - I don't know how you can't have nightmares, have you ever been to a Teddy bear shop? The walls are lined with them...waiting to eat you...**

**MingShung - Fun name, For a fun time!**


	10. Back to the Academy

**I'M ALIVE! Two out of six tests done, in your face English and Maths! But maths has had the last laugh. I ended up with a blister on my hand after the exam. But of course I had to celebrate the ending of both of the exams, so I went into the city and went to Lockdown! Fun fun, Gun gun. If you have Half-life 2 go to garrysmod.tv/garrysmods/ or something it is fun to do all these weird things, like setting up the whole stage with gravestones arranged so when they fall they create the domino effect.**

**So yeah, sorry if I don't get this out tonight, but tomorrow morning I have a History exam and yeah, I hope you people appreciate these chapters, I am putting the rest of my life in danger for these! But I don't really care. An easy life isn't a life I want. So, does anyone else hate trigonometry with a burning passion? I am in intermediate maths and we are the only group (Standard, Intermediate, and Advanced) that had a full page on trigonometry. How unfair is that?**

**On another note **

**10619 hits, 50 alerts, 32 favourites and 77 reviews.**

**11011 hits, 52 alerts, 37 favourites and 78 reviews.**

**11248 hits, 52 alerts, 38 favourites and 81 reviews. **

**Am I the only person who thinks something is not computing? The latest chapter has 422 hits alone, with only ten reviews. Some of you people really are lazy, but then I can be lazy to. On a cooler note Chapter eight's hit count is 666. Ha, Funny.**

**I can't imagine how largely known Authors feel. Like Shezza88 His stories are all over one thousand reviews, He must have over 100,000 hits. I mean, just damn.**

**I shall never be lazy again!**

_**When I ran I didn't feel like a runaway  
When I escaped I didn't feel like I got away  
There's more to living than only surviving  
Maybe I'm not there, but I'm still trying**_

_**Offspring**_

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* * *

****

**Sorry people, I have a headache, I got to 'exams' and it flared really hard, so a Chapter tomorrow but not today. All I have to say is damn; I planed on getting up during the night. And I woke up many times! But I couldn't find the will power to get out of bed, so once the test today is over, I'm coming back here. And saints be dammed there will be a Genin exam.**

**History tests suck.**

_**Day of the Genin exams**_

Yawning slightly Naruto rolled over onto his stomach. But to his surprise and discontent he fell down onto the hard ground of the Hyuuga complex's 'lawn'. From behind him a roar of laughter caught his attention. Turning around Naruto scowled lightly as he saw Guard sitting atop of a column holding his stomach to hold in his laughter.

Slowly Naruto rose to his feet and dusted off a few pieces of grass which clung to his clothing. Glancing around Naruto noted he was not in his room. Instead he was right next to the perimeter wall where he had been sitting next to Guard the night before.

_I mustn't have gotten up to go back._ Naruto thought lazily just before he glanced up to the sun. Frowning he saw the sun was enshrouded by a large mass of clouds. With a soft sigh Naruto turned to Guard and mumbled.

"What's the time? "To Guard, Staring at him as he awaited the answer.

"You have approximately ten minutes until the Academy is in session. " Guard said calmly as he looked back to Naruto. Nodding absently Naruto turned to the Hyuuga complex and ran as fast as his legs would carry him. As Naruto rushed over the soft blades of grass the tips brushed against the sole's of his feet.

_I haven't got shoes on? _Naruto questioned to himself as the balls of his feet hit the concrete surrounding the edges of the Hyuuga building. He grimaced in slight pain as the layers of skin were scraped at. Staring up ahead to the Arch of the Hyuuga buildings entrance Naruto's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

As Naruto closed the distance between him and the entrance a figure stood in the middle of the arch. _Hinata-sama?_ Naruto thought to himself as he lunged to the right of Hinata before stepping back to the left as he passed her. Somewhere in the back of his mind he noticed Neji standing just behind her before he pressed on running towards his room.

As Naruto went deeper into the house he continued to encounter many Hyuuga in his path, and utilising the skills given to him he managed to work his way around them all. That is until he made it into the hallway to his room. Just as Naruto was about to enter his room the door opposite his room, Hanabi's opened up and out stepped Hanabi dressed in her 'informal battle clothes '. On her forehead rested her forehead protector, the sign that she had become a ninja.

Just as they were about to collide Hanabi stepped to her right avoiding the would be painful collision. Naruto grinded to a halt just before the door leading to his room. Without wasting time to talk Naruto pulled open his door and jumped at his clothing. As he got changed, Hanabi who was intrigued by the rush peaked into Naruto's room just in time to see him pull his pants up.

"Nice pants. " Hanabi commented offhandedly as Naruto turned around. Now clad in A Black shirt and dark blue pants Naruto simply nodded before pushing Hanabi out of the room and closing it behind him. All the while Hanabi was giving Naruto an amused look.

Naruto couldn't take it any longer.

"What's your deal!" he demanded to know as he glowered at Hanabi who was standing in front of him. Arching an eyebrow Hanabi leaned forward placing her mouth next to his ear where she whispered.

"You have half an hour until the Academy starts the Genin exam. "Before leaning back and savouring the annoyed look upon Naruto's face.

"Liar, Hinata and Neji were at the exit when I came inside. "

Hanabi's eyes dramatically narrowed. Naruto only realised his mistake as Hanabi's hand made contact with his stomach. Flinching slightly at the sudden rush of pain through his body Naruto smiled apologetically and mumbled a "Sorry. "To Hanabi.

Nodding slightly to Naruto's apology Hanabi turned on her foot sending her hair in a wide arch and striking Naruto's cheek. Just as Naruto was about to complain Hanabi began her way away from Naruto and down the corridor. Pouting slightly Naruto followed after her.

* * *

_**Outside the Hyuuga Complex**_

Naruto slowly made his way through the early morning streets of Konoha, Marvelling at how little things had changed in his two year incarceration. Glancing to the right Naruto's eyes landed on two small boys chasing one another and trying to take something from each other. Smiling at the sight Naruto continued down the road.

As Naruto continued down the road he took note of the fearful glances the villagers gave him. Bitterly he thought '_What have I ever done to them?_ 'As the parents ushered their children inside at the sight of Naruto. Soon afterwards the entire street was vacant except for the few villagers that did not fear him. Smiling at them Naruto lifted his arm up and waved.

The villagers smiled and waved back.

Feelings slightly more cheerful Naruto continued walking towards the Ninja Academy. Just as Naruto was about to pass the entrance of a flower shop the sound of a doorbell ringing caught his attention. Turning his head slightly to face the sound, Naruto was mildly surprised to see A platinum blond head of hair exit the doorway, Sliding his gaze down his eyes met momentarily with that of the girls before recognition occurred.

_Ino._ Thought Naruto as he continued to walk, changing his focus from her onto the road. A few minutes later the sound of someone running found its way to Naruto's ears. As he continued to walk a voice rang out behind him.

"Blondie! Wait up! "

Stopping for a moment Naruto waited for the person who called out to him made their way to his side. After a few seconds the sound of the foot steps was by his side. Taking that as his que Naruto continued to walk forwards and was rewarded with a slight groan. "Dammit wait! " Ino's voice called out. Chuckling lightly Naruto stopped yet again.

In mere seconds Ino was besides him resting her hand on his shoulder. Shrugging slightly he tried to dislodge Ino's hand but it remain on him. _So I don't run off again?_ Naruto wondered absentmindedly before his thoughts were cut off by Ino.

"Do I know you from somewhere? "She asked curiously as she began to walk in stride with Naruto. Instead of answering Naruto simply nodded. Ino not being use to no word answers glared mildly at Naruto before trying again.

"Do you go to the Academy? "Which to Naruto just nodded again.

_Who does he think he is! _Ino thought angrily. _And I'm sure I haven't seen him in the last two years at the Academy, Ha, He must be repeating._ Ino thought superiorly. While engrossed in her thoughts Ino did not notice a pothole in which she was about to step.

A flash of shock passed through Ino's eyes the moment she felt her foot slip into the pothole and cause her to stumble. Dread courses through Ino as she watched in slow motion the ground come to her. Just as Ino was about to hit the ground she closed her eyes. But to her surprise the contact never came. Opening her eyes she noted that the ground was an inch away from her face. As she tried to move she felt something akin to a full body cast on her body and was unable to move.

Panicking slightly Ino began to strain her muscles but stopped as a voice reached her ears.

"Don't strain. " Naruto's voice came. Shocked to hear him speak Ino stopped trying to move. It was at that point where she felt her body lift up into the air and righted itself so her feet were on the ground. Just as her feet touched the ground Ino felt the control over her limbs return to her. Glancing to Naruto she saw his hand slide back to his side before he began walking again.

Shivering slightly at the power he displayed Ino quickly raced to catch up to him. _So a No to the repeating, No one I know can do that… He's strong. _Breaking out of her slightly dark thoughts Ino smiled at Naruto and continued to walk in silence.

Soon both Naruto and Ino were standing just outside the Academy. Naruto at the first sight of the Academy had stopped and was trying to remember where everything about. Ino had stopped because she had one more thing to ask Naruto before she went her separate way.

"That's your name? "Asked Ino slightly nervously. Silence followed her question. Soon Ino was about to walk away when Naruto finally replied. "Naruto. " Smiling a bit at the answer Ino bowed to Naruto before brightly saying;

"I am Yamanaka, Ino Yamanaka. " Ino said softly before beginning to walk towards the entrance of the Academy. Naruto waited until she was out of ear shot, and then his façade slowly broke away. Chuckling Naruto made his way to the office area of the Academy to make sure they reinstated him into the Academy so he could take the Genin exam.

Once inside the building Naruto slowly walked against the tide of students heading for their classroom and made his way to the Office near the back end of the structure. More then once he took note of a slightly familiar face among the crowd but continued going as they took no notice of him. A small smile made its way to his face as his eyes landed on the doorway to the office.

Pushing his way past the multitude of students still in front of him Naruto after seemingly minutes passed through the doorway and stepped up to the desk near the door. Sitting at the door was a Nondescript Konoha Chuunin sorting through a large stack of papers. After a few minutes the Chuunin finally took note of Naruto's presence.

"How may I help you? " The guard asked in a Monotone voice as he continued to place the papers in separate piles. Grimacing slightly at the thought of having to do the job Naruto quickly shook his head evacuating the thoughts in his mind.

"Uzumaki, Naruto returning for the Genin exam. " Naruto said formally as he scratched the back of his head laughing softly.

"Uzumaki Naruto? "Asked the Chuunin in mild surprise. He finally looked up to Naruto and a look of shock was plastered on his face before it slowly slipped into a more comfortable smile. "Ah, Welcome back Uzumaki. You're with Iruka are you not? He hasn't changed Classrooms since he started teaching here; I assume you remember its location? "The Chuunin questioned.

"Yeah, I remember, I just wanted to let you know for the record. " Naruto said as he flashed the Chuunin a smile and left the office.

* * *

_**Classroom No.5**_

Iruka smiled at the mass of potential Genin in front of him. For the last seven years he had been instructing them on the proper ways of the Ninja. To Iruka watching them graduate and grow up was the proudest moment of his life. As his eyes raked the students he casually searched for a spiky head of blonde hair but unfortunately did not find any.

Sighing Iruka dragged the name list off of the desk in front of him sliding his eyes with the ease of years of practice to the First name on the list, "Aburame, Shino. " Iruka called out pressing the tip of the pencil in his hand to the small check box next to the boy's name.

"Here. "Came Shino's nonchalant voice from the middle of the room. Nodding slightly Iruka made a tick mark in the box. And so the process continued until he came to the last names on the list.

"Uchiha, Sasuke? " A small 'Hn' sound was made. Iruka having had to deal with Sasuke for the last seven years recognised his patented multipurpose grunt and made a tick in the box. Frowning slightly Iruka's gaze landed on 'Uzumaki Naruto 'All along the page next to the name was a line of crosses. Iruka had been hoping since this was the Genin exam Naruto would have shown up. Sighing softly Iruka raised his voice again.

"Uzumaki, Naruto? " Iruka said his voice melancholy. Just as he was about to put a cross in Naruto's box the sound of a door sliding open caught his attention. Iruka looked up to the door of the classroom and was happily surprised.

"Yeah, I'm here. " Naruto said as he entered the room eliciting an instant wave of noise between all the Academy students.

_Who's he?_

_Didn't he fail?_

_He's cute_

_Hn…Naruto…?_

_It's that guy from before, He's THAT Naruto?_

_My bug sense is tingling._

_I smell…Food. No Akamaru! No food for you._

_Naruto-kun finally I was getting worried._

Chuckling slightly at the disorder he had caused in the room Naruto thought to himself. _Chaos, Surprise, Disorder, My work is almost done here. _As he bowed towards Iruka. And turned to the students, trailing his eyes over the students searching for a place to sit.

Two places were prominent in his eyes. There was an open seat next to Sasuke. As Naruto's eyes landed on Sasuke a cold wave of rage swept over him. He had long since given up getting stronger to be Sasuke friend. He had since then realised that If Sasuke was his friend he wouldn't have left him. In the middle of the room a row in front of Shino Aburame Hinata sat by her self. _Hinata-sama._ Naruto thought absentmindedly and instantly chose to sit next to her. _But first..._ A small mischievous smirk found its home on Naruto's face for a moment before vanishing.

After walking to Hinata's table Naruto stood at the end facing Hinata. Once Hinata had focused on him completely, which she had done as soon as he entered. Naruto bowed deeply and said softly. "Hinata-sama, May I please occupy the article of furniture next to you? "Trying his hardest to keep the humour out of his voice.

As soon as the last word left Naruto's lips the room broke out into whispers again.

_Did he just say Hinata-SAMA?_

_Who would give her that much respect!_

_She IS a Hyuuga, I heard he was training with them._

_He's so mature! And a gentlemen._

_Sasuke-kun is more mature then him! And he's a gentleman also!_

_No he isn't._

Naruto managed to stifle his grin before it even formulated on his face. Throughout the whole ordeal Naruto remained in the bowed position waiting for Hinata to give him her confirmation. If he had looked up he would have seen Hinata's cheeks burning wildly with red at the sudden attention on her.

"Of course Naruto-kun. "She mumbled softly trying not to be heard by anyone else in the room. Naruto flashed her small grin before taking his seat beside Hinata. Iruka through the whole ordeal had remained silent and observed Naruto.

_He seems different, although most of the children could not tell it was an act He has gained some amount of manners from the Hyuuga, I wonder what else they taught him. They would not have been able to train him in their art of the Gentle fist and it is only that which allows the Hyuuga who don't learn the fundamentals to pass the exam._ Iruka's lips quirked upwards in a small smile. _I can't wait to see._

"Alright, Alright! Settle down, I know you are all glad to have Naruto back in the classroom BUT THE EXAM STARTS SOON! "Iruka raised his voice at the end as he noted that no one was paying attention. The added volume in his voice did it, instantly every pair of eyes which were not on him before were centred on him. If it had been anyone else Iruka would have blushed and stuttered. But they were no one else; they were the children who had grown to respect him, even if they did so grudgingly.

"Yamanaka, Ino? "Called out Iruka as the class became silent again.

"Here! "Came Ino's bouncy voice from his right Naruto noted as he gazed around the room to view the people he used to be familiar with.

After ticking Ino off the list Iruka dragged his finger up to the top of the list and called out

"Aburame, Shino, You're first up. " From the row behind him Naruto heard a chair scuffle against the floor and then footsteps. Soon Shino was walking towards Iruka in front of him and he could take a good look. To Naruto Shino had not changed much except for his hair, it was mildly longer then two years ago, the last time he had seen him.

After both Shino and Iruka had exited the room and closed the door, the room broke out into various conversations.

"Naruto-kun? " came a voice from his right ear. Immediately Naruto recognised the pitch and tone of the voice as Ino's.

"Yes Ino-san? " Naruto said softly as he turned around and faced her.

"Ino-san? Don't be so formal! We've known each other for a while!" Ino exclaimed clapping her hands once together and holding them there. Naruto thought about it for a bit, they had known each other for Seven years although not anything beyond Formal greetings.

Naruto nodded thoughtfully before speaking again. "Alright Ino. "He said smiling lightly. Ino to that pouted almost unnoticeably. Before brightening up again.

"About the incident this morning, I forgot to thank you. " She said smiling.

"Thank you! "She blurted out looking away from Naruto. If she had continued looking she would have seen the small smile on Naruto's lips. The same lips soon parted and released the words, "You're welcome. "

Hinata sat next to Naruto silently trying not to glare at Ino. _How dare she talk to Naruto-kun!_ One side of her raged trying to get Hinata to hurt Ino. _Hush, she won't do anything to Naruto-kun while we're here besides she is just being friendly, soon she will go back to Sasuke._ Hinata's nice side countered.

As if by the words Hinata had thought Ino bowed slightly before heading back towards Sasuke. Smiling until she set her eyes on him. A scowl made its place on her face for a fraction of a second before she switched into 'Bouncy' Mode and tried to push a pink haired girl away from Sasuke half-heartedly.

_Sakura_ Naruto's mind registered. A small frown made its place on Naruto's mouth before he turned away unwilling to have his eyes on her any longer. A slide of the door and the re-entering of Shino caused everyone to shift their focus on him.

"Agorae, Kenji " Shino said softly before returning to his seat.

* * *

_**Test room**_

Naruto stood in the centre of the room casually on his right foot waiting for Iruka and his assistant Mizuki to begin the test. Shuffling the papers in front of him Iruka brought a sheet out of the bundle and held it in front of his face before speaking.

" Naruto, I will ask you Five questions, Each question is worth Ten marks, You get a mark out of five for the following; Time you take to answer, and the Quality of the answer. " Smiling lightly at Naruto Iruka mouthed a '_good luck'._ Before beginning.

"The standard weapons in a Ninja's possession are what?"

"Kunai and Throwing stars. " Answered Naruto easily. _Ten points! Easy._

"Chakra is created by"

"Combining the physical energy gather from our body, with the Spiritual energy created by our mind. " Answered Naruto after thinking for a moment. _Damn, seven points._

"The Highest rank a Ninja can obtain is what?"

"Kage, they are the leaders of the Ninja villages. " _Another ten._

" What are the three basic Ninja techniques?"

" Umm, Art of Disguise, Art of Replacement, and Art of replication? " Naruto asked rather confused. _Zero points…_

" How many ranks are there? "

Naruto smiled lightly as he answered.

" The ranks in order from lowest to highest are as following, D,C,B,A and finally S." _Ten points, Score._

Nodding slightly Iruka laid down the paper on the desk. And Looked at Naruto expectantly.

" Please preform the Art of Replication for us Naruto. "

Naruto scratched the back of his head lightly as he started to laugh.

"Funny thing you know, I can't. "

Iruka's eyebrow twitched slightly before saying

" Then you fai-"

" Woah, woah, woah! " Naruto yelled quickly waving his arms in the air. Iruka stopped what he was saying and looked at Naruto blankly.

"If you can't replicate you fail. "

"Iruka-sensei you know my circumstances!" Naruto said annoyed. Iruka had a thoughtful look upon his face as if trying to remember something. A small flush of red hit his cheeks as he remembered.

"Ah, I forgot, can you show anything else? "

Naruto chuckled lightly as he raised his hand upwards until it became parallel with the ground. Turning his palm downwards to the ground He began to gather the Chakra into his arm and quickly surge it towards his hand containing it there. _For effect_. Naruto thought as he released his strict control over the Chakra and allowed a few sparks of Chakra to dislodge from his hand and then re-attract back to the main Chakra source contained in his hand. Smiling Naruto let his control slip even further allowing the Chakra contained within his hand to 'ignite' and create flaming effect over his hand.

Through the display Iruka and Mizuki eyes had widened significantly in slight awe at the Technique. As Naruto's hand ignited with the Chakra flames Iruka's jaw had hit the table as he openly gawked at the technique.

" Is that enough?" Naruto asked slightly bored as he lowered his arm and held it by his side. Iruka and Mizuki only nodded their confirmation. Frowning Naruto walked up to their desk and grasped one of the Forehead protectors, taking it from the table and making his way out of the room.

Instead of heading back to the classroom Naruto decided he had had enough excitement for the day and wanted to go back to his old place.

_I wonder if they still have it open._ Naruto thought as he walked out of the building.

"Naruto. "Someone called from behind him. Stopping Naruto turned around and faced the source of the voice.

"Sasuke? "

* * *

**My first on purpose cliff hanger, although it's more of a small stair like fall.**

**madnarutofan – Typos'R'Us Typing school isn't enough for you, you need a Typosurgery. I don't think it exists, But if it does you need it. Or perhaps it was that large glass of Water next to your Monitor which is trying to kill you through the use of random molecules of Hydrogen!**

**Anti-Thule – Review, Review, Emu.**

**ChaosRonnin – Negative Alpha one. I'm not that using anything from any other series except for the occasional quote, And Evangelion's Plot-mechanics. This Naruto is slightly based on me; He knows when to act which way, so in battle unless it is an easily won battle he will be serious, Like a Fox.**

**Shinigami Keitaro – It is a To-be-decided pairing, I have a whole list of people to choose and she's just one on it, Even if she is the highest ranking one. For all I know she and Anko could have a large battle and Naruto could try to stop it by running between their attacks and getting fatally injured.**

**Wizard Surreal – I could read that yesterday afternoon, this morning I can't. Well I could, but I'm too half assed to right now. That and I just realised I need to catch the bus in twenty minutes and those twenty minutes could be used for blinking. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Ino had a twin sister and Sakura didn't exist?**

**Master Chaos – Naruto won't be happy with his team mates at first and will want different ones, you'll see why soon. I mean in like... A few hundred words.**

**Jester12 – Everyone always pictures Hinata as a good girl who never does anything to upset people, guess what! She is still human! And she has a dark side, darker then Orochimaru's greasy hair! They were never dead.**

**AzureSky123 – Yes, Originally I was going to have Aigyou as Hanabi's mother. But it didn't turn out that way in the end. I haven't decided to have her in or out yet in this fiction. Hanabi doesn't like the Main house. But she unlike Neji isn't male thus she has looked at it from a different perspective. That and Hizashi told her what was happening before he died. **

**Keep it down, **

**Smack that frown! **

**Hit the ground!**

**Ready for another round?**

**nobodykaires – You're getting a red card, to the eye. Double plus two, you lose! The words and I have a secret contract they can never go against me or else I blow up their home word, Charation. The Character nation and planet.**

**FairyQilan – No Ninjustu or Genjutsu. Naruto uses my not long coined Enejutsu.**

**Omnikaze – You reviewed just as I was about to turn off the computer. At first I thought you said the story was shit. But Thanks, The updates as seen by the fact I didn't update yesterday are slowing down slightly while I have to take exams. His name IS Guard. Ha, Ha. Chakra strings are the devils tool for disorder. **

**Yo - Ah, You know when you go to sleep and when you wake up in the morning there is stuff in your eye? I call it sleep 'cause you get it while you sleep, Sleet Is what my mother originally called it I think, Anyway I'm sure you know what it is even with a name you don't recognise now.**

**I had a bit of fun writing the scene. It's those scenes in which you lose track of time and write just to enjoy the pictures unfold in your mind and take shape as words on the page.**

**You're flattery makes me smile. You'll find many more writers better then me. If you mean that by my ideas then you are most likely correct, I am the least stable of any of them. Or I hope so, I don't want anyone as unhinged as me. Ha ha**

**I most likely will have the separate side story entitled Two years with the Hyuuga and will update it at random intervals as I get a good idea of what Naruto could have done when he was at the Hyuuga's It most likely will have around 27ish chapters, One for every month plus two extra for the Teddy bear Hinata's bedroom scene.**

**Hope you enjoyed this meagre chapter.**

**On another note I bought the Fight club book today, I haven't read much but it is interesting. Heres an interesting part sorry if I don't quote it exactly.**

'**Bob loves me because he thinks my testicles were removed to'**

**How inspiringly interesting and disturbing is that? I think I may enjoy this book on some psychotic level.**


	11. Team choices P1

**I am finding it hard to write the confrontation between Naruto and Sasuke. If I **

**was in this situation I would not know what to do in this sort of situation. The rest of the Chapter came easily though, So thank whoever for small things.**

**This isn't the complete chapter, It will be around twice the current length or 10,000 words, whichever I like better. The rest will come sooner or later and I will re-alert. Sorry but I'm going to my fathers to enjoy relaxing, THE TESTS ARE OVER AND I AM A GOD! I finished the Computer test an hour early, In other words I finished in half an hour, Wooh Party. **

**_I don't want anyone to think about me in past tense._**

**_- Squall Leonheart_**

* * *

****

Leaning against the right side of the outside of the doorframe Sasuke had centred his obsidian gaze upon Naruto's eyes. Naruto on the other hand was standing relax, a frown of annoyance upon his lips.

"You passed?" Sasuke asked as he pushed himself off the wall and stood up without any support from the building. Naruto nodded lightly, his eyes lighting up with curiosity at the thought of Sasuke's reaction.

A smile bloomed on Sasuke's face as he walked forwards to Naruto, only stopping as he stood feet away from him. Reaching up Sasuke placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"We can be friends again. "He said softly.

Naruto frowned lightly before he shook his head from side to side. _He wants to be friends now? Oh that's right, I was too weak before._

"And why is that? " Naruto asked curiously, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Pending on Sasukes answer Naruto would decide his path out of the two which the moment in time permitted.

Sasuke smiled genuinely. "Because you aren't weak. "

_Wrong answer_. Thought Naruto as he glared at Sasuke with disgust staining his eyes. Sasuke frowned slightly as Naruto glared at him.

"I won't be your friend Sasuke, not again. " Naruto said casually before beginning to walk away from Sasuke.

'_Shouldn't he be happy he can be my friend again? 'He_ thought confused as he withdrew his hand from Naruto's shoulder. '_It's an honour to be a friend of an Uchiha! 'Sasuke_ continued in his mind as his confusion turned to anger.

"You dare mock my clan? " Sasuke snarled at Naruto, his face distorted into a mask of hatred and rage. Naruto stopped walking as the words left Sasukes lips. Slowly Naruto turned around and faced Sasuke, his eyes filled with sorrow.

"You aren't my friend Sasuke, The moment you used that as your reason. You are no longer my friend." Naruto said softly frowning at Sasuke before turning around and walking away again.

Sasuke just glared at Naruto's back, No matter much he wanted to strike Naruto deep down inside him he knew Naruto had been right, they weren't friends, they just…_were_. Sasuke snapped his head away from Naruto and turned his body to follow it. Slowly he walked away sliding his hands into his pockets.

As Naruto walked away from Sasuke he was forcefully keeping his eyes staring ahead. Sasuke had been the first friend he had ever had who was the same age as him. Two years ago right after the test Naruto would have been happy to go back to being friends with Sasuke. In the present time however Naruto was not naïve.

He did not have some childish inclination to just be a friend because circumstances were right. _I have real friends._ Thought Naruto fondly as his mind flashed to the three Hyuuga children he had spent the last two years with. Another image flashed through his mind. Naruto's face broke out into a smile as he added in afterthought; _and Ino I guess, she was nice._

With a considerable bounce in his step Naruto began to make his way to his old apartment. Half way between the Academy and His apart meant Naruto was struck with a sense of foreboding. Coming to a stop Naruto turned around and faced the opposite direction of the way he was walking.

Nothing was behind him. Glancing up to the top of the right and left sides building he still could not see any threat. But the feeling still lingered. Sighing softly Naruto turned around and came nose to nose with someone. Just as Naruto was about to jump back and take stance his eyes made contact with the persons. Soft white pupils stared back at him passively.

Relaxing Naruto allowed a small smile to form on his lips as he took a step forward and the person slide to their right and spun around taking a place beside Naruto. The pair walked in silence for a few minutes.

"Have they given you your teams yet? "Asked Hanabi softly as she turned her head to Naruto throwing him a curious glance. Chuckling softly Naruto shook his head from side to side before facing Hanabi and asking her.

"Why didn't you ask if I passed? "

A confused look found its way to his face. Hanabi simply smiled before nudging Naruto in the ribs. Wincing slightly Naruto rubbed the spot where Hanabi had nudged him mumbling "Owwie. "

Hanabi arched an eyebrow to both Naruto's question and audition of pain.

"If you had failed you would already be back at home training yourself regard. But as it is you are not, besides you couldn't have failed, it is that simple. "

A warm smile appeared on Naruto's face and before Hanabi realised what had happened Naruto's arms enveloped her and she was wrapped up in a hug. At first Hanabi's body stiffened. _Why is he hugging me?_ She thought confused before slowly relaxing under Naruto's hold and eventually sliding her arms around him in a return loose hug.

"Thank you. " Naruto mumbled into her ear before he let go and smiled at Hanabi. Hanabi blinked before returning the smile slightly confused.

"For what? "

Naruto shrugged slightly.

"For everything. "

"Naruto…" Hanabi said softly as she lifted her hand up and placed it on his shoulder. Naruto tilted his head to the side and made a 'Hm 'sound.

"If you really want to thank me… Next Sunday come by training field 3? "

Naruto grinned at Hanabi, nodding quickly. "Easy! I love to train! "

To that Hanabi chuckled darkly giving Naruto a sense of impending doom. Shivering slightly Naruto spared Hanabi a scared look before returning to normal and beginning to walk towards his apartment again.

Glancing back Naruto saw Hanabi standing where they had stoped previously. Frowning he asked. "Aren't you coming to my place? "As he scratched the back of his head lightly. Smiling lightly Hanabi shook her head before turning around and facing the opposite direction, or more precisely the Hyuuga mansion.

As Hanabi continued to walk away Naruto kept his eyes on her a fond smile taking hold of his lower face. _She's a real friend._ Naruto thought as he once again turned around to head back to his apartment. For the second time that day Naruto found himself inches away from another pair of eyes.

Pale blue eyes stared back at him. Not knowing what to do Naruto just stood still staring back into the eyes in front of him. After a few moments the pale blue eyes registered with Ino in Naruto's mind. _What does Ino want; this is the second time today she has come up to me so abruptly._ Naruto thought idly as he waited for Ino to say something.

"Did you pass? " Ino asked curiously as she leaned backwards placing some space between their faces. Smiling slightly Naruto nodded in affirmation. Glancing down to Ino's waistline Naruto took note of a forehead protector wrapped around her in a belt fashion.

"I see you passed also. " She stood confused for a second before glancing down to her waist and remembering that she had placed her forehead protector on display just below her stomach. Smiling sheepishly Ino nodded before changing the smile into a grin.

Taking hold of Naruto's arm she began to drag him down the middle of the street. As they walked on Ino began an animated conversation between herself and a silent Naruto about Random topics. Before not to long they were in front of the flower shop Naruto had seen Ino exit out of in the morning.

"…And after all I did for her she came up to me and told me we couldn't be friends any more because she thought I liked Sasuke! She even gave me my ribbon back. I really hated her for that so I pretended to like Sasuke just to motivate her to do better and…well the rest if history. "Ino trailed off as she realised they were in front of her stop.

'_Ino went through the same thing as I and Sasuke did. We were both left by our friends because of trivial reasons. The Difference between us is that she gave up and went along with it to continue to help her friend. I on the other hand sought help out to overcome Sasukes reason but changed the reasoning for my actions until he no longer influenced them.'_ Naruto thought as Ino was about to leave.

Reaching to her Naruto grasped her upper right arm loosely causing her to stop and give him a confused look.

"Naruto-kun? "

Smiling at Ino Naruto let go of her arm.

"I know how you feel; something similar happened between Sasuke and me. Perhaps we can …talk again tomorrow Ino-Chan? "Naruto said softly as the smile on his lips quirked upwards slightly. A shall patch of pink slowly faded into existence on both of her cheeks. Ino lunged at Naruto and wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him to her tightly.

Suddenly Ino broke off from the confused Naruto and ran inside the flower shop. Naruto reached up to the back of his head and scratched it mildly before turning to face the direction of his old apartment and beginning to walk again.

Gently Naruto pushed the front door open. As the door swung open a low pitched screeching sound tore through Naruto's eardrums. Wincing he stopped pushing the door hoping to stop the sound. And it worked. With a quick shove Naruto opened the door all the way up and was hit with a short high pitch sound.

Gingerly Naruto tip toed into the apartment only stopping when he was in the middle. Looking around the room Naruto smiled.

"Welcome home. " He murmured to himself as he began the clean up. After two years of Non-use the apartment had gathered a lot of dust, Naruto just with a quick glance could see the thin dust layer covering everything.

Naruto's mouth opened of its own accord and released a loud yawn. Shaking his head violently Naruto tried to get rid of the sleepy feeling. And for a few moments it worked. Glancing to his bed Naruto wasn't surprised to fine a grey layer coating the bed unevenly.

Deciding that if he was going to clean up he would need food Naruto walked over to the Refrigerator and grasped the handle grimacing as his hand touched the layers of dust on the handle. _Do I dare look?_ Naruto thought seriously. Two years without food beginning changed could make things very dangerous for anyone unprepared to face the vile smell of decaying food.

Shrugging lightly Naruto gripped the handle tightly and inhaled deeply ignoring the rush of dust into his lungs and pulled the door open. A blast of stagnant air hit him. In front of Naruto the refrigerator was…empty! Deciding it was safe to breathe Naruto let out his breath and breezed in the smell released from the Refrigerator. He immediately regretted it as the taste and smell of the stagnant air hit him.

Naruto slammed the Door closed quickly realizing only at the last minute what it would do. As the large gush of wind pushed by the door spread out into the room it dislodged the two year old dust and spread it into the air. Naruto's eyes widened and he made a bee-line straight for the door and just in time. Where he would have been was crowded with air born dust.

Naruto sat on the floor outside his apartment sighing softly.

'_It's going to be a long night… '_

* * *

_**The next morning.**_

Slowly his eye lids parted and he was greeted with a splendid view of a sparkling clean roof. _Shiny_ thought Naruto idly as he lazily stretched under the warm sheets. As the cold air of the morning greeted his upper body Naruto shivered involuntarily and pulled his cover up until his entire body was in darkness and salivating over the body heat he had given off over the night which turned out to be a good thing.

Naruto chuckled lightly.

"Good old Body, always giving off heat when I need you. "Mumbled fondly as he prepared to fall back to sleep. However his plight was not to be fulfilled. A loud scream pierced through the silence and was followed quickly by a series of adults yelling, children laughing and dogs barking.

'_It wasn't meant to be'_ Naruto thought morosely as he slowly pulled the sheet on top of him down and slid his feet onto the ground. The sudden rush of cold tore up through Naruto's legs as he pressed down onto the ground and lifted his body off the bed.

Naruto trod his way over to the fridge and grasped the handle, yanking open the door. Just as the day before Naruto was struck with the stagnant air. However unlike the day before Naruto was not expecting anything horrible and flung himself backwards from the smell violently, ending up on the ground two meters away.

_No food…_ Naruto thought sadly before he slowly stood up again and took a glance to the clock hanging on the wall next to the dining table. '**6:25**'Naruto deciphered from the way the hands were pointing. To the time Naruto frowned deeply.

' _There is no way children would be up at this time of the day yelling, their parents wouldn't let them because they would know people like me want to sleep. The only explanation is the batteries have run out…Which is highly likely since they haven't been changed in two years…Crap. '_

Naruto's eyes widen considerably before he as fast as his legs could carry him ran to the door and fumbled with the lock. Moments later after the unlocking process had ended Naruto pushed the door open and trailed his eyes over the street quickly.

A few meters away stood a young woman holding the hand of a child. Glancing to her wrist Naruto searched for a watch but could not find one. Just as he was about to dismiss the child as useful a flash of light struck his eye from the child's wrist.

'_Yes! A watch!'_ Naruto thought joyfully as he inhaled a large breath of air and spoke as loudly as he could.

"Yo! Kid, what's the time? "Naruto called out looking directly at the child. The boy in question froze for a moment and looked around wildly searching for the source of the yell. Finally after a few moments the child's eyes made contact with Naruto's. Naruto looked at the child expectantly and was not disappointed.

"9:16 Mr! "the young child chirped waving his hand to Naruto as he smiled happily. Naruto returned the smile for a moment before his mind registered the time he had said. '_9:16, School starts at 9:00, I'm doomed. '_Naruto thought quickly before diving inside and slamming the door after him.

A series of loud crashed was heard from within Naruto's room before silence suddenly took hold. The entire street surprised and slightly dreading what had happened in the building became silent and kept their eyes on the door of the building. Without warning the door was kicked open and slammed back against the wall of the apartment.

Out stepped Naruto clad in his Traditional Black shirt but instead of dark blue pants he wore the same black as the shirt giving him a rather foreboding appearance when combined with his messy even by his standards hair and slightly bloodshot eyes. Not wasting a moment Naruto dug his heel into the ground and literally blasted off the front of his apartment.

Naruto grimaced as the shock of instantly expanding compressed Chakra hit his body. The wind rushed passed him as he soared through the air head first. Squinting his eyes Naruto made out the Academy almost directly in front of him. With the skill of a trained acrobat Naruto twisted his body in the air as to allow his body to become less wind resistance and allow him to fall at a greater pace.

Narrowing his eyes Naruto took sight of a slightly large tree in the back of the Academy grounds. '_The place where Sasuke and I use to sit around._ 'Thought Naruto momentarily remembering the years before when he and Sasuke were friends. Shaking his head slightly Naruto snapped out of his stupor and lashed his hand out to his right as a branch came into reach. As soon as the texture of the wood met his hand Naruto pushed a thin layer of Chakra out from his palm in the form of a thin sheet.

Instead of the skin of his hand being burnt and torn by the bark of the tree the skin remained unblemished or as unblemished as it had been prior. The Chakra Naruto had placed between his hand and the Branch had acted as a cushion between the two surfaces and allowed Naruto to spin around on the Branch a few times reducing his momentum before he let go.

Spiralling through the air Naruto quickly righted him and landed on his feet in a slight crouch. Remaining still for a moment Naruto waited for the shock of the impact on the ground wore off, Although he had used the Branch to remove most of the force carrying him a large amount still was present in his motions as he made contact with the ground, leaving his bones slightly shaken.

Smiling Naruto straightened up and turned to the Academy. Instead of rushing to his class and apologising to Iruka for being tardy Naruto stood still, his eyes slightly wide at the sight before him.

Most of the Academy students were sitting around in the area and talking to each other, Or rather they would have been if they were not all staring at Naruto in a mixture of fear and awe. Reaching to the back of his head Naruto dug his fingers into his scalp scratching it lightly as he began to laugh nervously.

For the second time in a few minutes a flash of light struck Naruto's eyes. Slowly Naruto's pupils slid to the place where it had come from. Pausing for a moment Naruto decided it had to be done. Dragging his hand from the back of his hand Naruto pointed his index finger at the girl who had accidentally struck his eye with the ray of light.

"Umm, what's the time? " Naruto asked curiously.

The girl lifted her hand and pointed to herself. After seeing Naruto nod the girl blushed and quickly glanced to her watch before looking back at Naruto and murmuring softly.

"8:30. "

'_That little…THING! HE LIED! DAMMIT I RUSHED AND DID THAT FOR NOTHING? AND NOW I HAVE ALL THESE KIDS STARING AT ME, I MEAN JEEZ IT'S NOT THAT IMPRESSIVE! '_Naruto ranted silently to himself all the while feeling a bubble of rage surfacing from his stomach.

"Naruto! "A Familiar voice called out just as Naruto felt like he was about to implode with the rage. Momentarily forgetting his anger at the child from before Naruto slid his eyes to the source of the voice. To the side looking placid stood Neji smirking at him.

"Ah, Neji, Having fun? " Naruto asked lightly as he turned to face Neji and conduct a conversation. At seeing this, the rest of the children present fell over at the dramatic idiocy of it. They had felt Naruto was going to do something violent.

"I was until you turned up in your unique style. " Neji said grumpily as he folded his arms over his chest in order to emphasis his disapproving of Naruto's actions. Naruto instantly caught onto the ploy. _'I have had a permanent effect on you Neji! Your father will be angry! '_Naruto thought deviously before he began the act.

"Oh! Forgive me Neji-sama! I did not mean to arrive in such a dramatic fashion and disrupt your ever important activities! You must allow me to make it up to you in some way to show that I am truly sorry for what I have done! "Naruto said in an overly vocal fashion, moving his arms about for emphasis on the entire sentence.

Neji stared coldly at Naruto and whispered softly. "Stop making such a scene you insolent idiot. " At this point Naruto clutched his chest desperately. Inside both Neji and Naruto were smiling but on the outside they were playing their parts perfectly.

Neji's eyes narrowed somewhat before he lifted his arm up and swung it at Naruto's head briefly touching the back of his hand to Naruto's cheek. Instantly Naruto kicked off away from the slap as if it had hit him hard and was sent through his own force crashing to the ground a few meters away.

All the while as the two acted out their scene the children around them were giving Neji fearful looks. After all if the boy who Neji called Naruto could fly then what could Neji do? And he back handed Him lightly and he went flying.

Slowly Naruto rose from the ground and coughed lightly before standing up and wobbly walking back to Neji. Snarling lightly Neji spoke.

"I hope you've learned your lesson, now get out of my sights! " Neji demanded slashing his hand horizontally towards the Academy. Naruto simply nodded and flashed Neji a small grin before leaving the back of the Academy and entering through the doors of the Back of the building.

Neji turned to face the other students and flashed them a toothy grin before.

"What! Haven't you ever seen anyone talk to their servants? "Neji asked incredulously. To this the children all blinked before shrugging and going back to doing what they were before. Neji showed a brief and small smile before going back to talking to some of the other boys in his class.

Just as he was about to open his mouth all his friends instantly gave him their opinion of what he just did.

"Cool! "

"Super cool! "

"That was mean! "

"He's your servant? "

Neji simply shrugged to them all and returned to the previous topic.

"And then my father…"

* * *

**Master Chaos - Commerce today, I couldn't remember most of the government positions so I blew it. Or at least I think so, hopefully note. College sounds fun, Lucky me I only have the Year Ten certificate in November then I am home free until the next year starts. Or so they tell me. **

**Haven't you ever wondered where all of Hinata's anger goes? I didn't really no how this would go, so I laid down, Read a bit more of the Fight Club and then it came to me. I'm also on a Non-E-money diet. So you can keep it, Ha.**

**Â – Is this the name you used? I don't think I got it right. I think of Hinata's 'dark side' as just the invert of her normal self.**

**FairyQilan - I refuse to ever write Naruto with anything remotely similar to the Sharingan or Byakugan. If I ever give him a Doujutsu it will be something cool. I feel the Sharingan isn't as great as people believe it to be. Later on I might write something showing my view of it.**

**Results without work are not Results but faults!**

**Naruto's attack list has already been created and approved by myself. A few of the attacks have already been seen. **

**nobodykaires - Mauwhauwha! You never said stop so it is twenty seven words.**

**Edengrave - I have made it a point to keep all the chapters above 3000 words. To tell you the truth this entire story will be divided into three separate parts. Sealing to Chuunin. Leaving to returning. And Defeating and Success. I plan to have around Lets see, 40k x3…120,000 words for the first part of the story. But considering that I have no pants on right now so I have decided to take in the possibility of having each chapter from now on 8k-10kish with will give me around 240kish words.**

**Mizuki I have left aside because I feel he will play a large role later on. Or If I decide he is to lame, then I will have him dying on a misc mission.**

**For those who actually read these Guess what! I will tell you One of the Uzumaki style techniques!**

**No. Name Translated Rank**

**3 ****Sphere cannon ****Ken-hou**** C-A**

**3. Creates a sphere, as many spheres of Chakra the user wants the energy is distributed evenly they can be as hard or as soft as the person wants. The harder the quicker they run out. They are controlled by the mind of the user.**

**Sound fun?**

**omnikaze – Perhaps, No he can't. You missed the part where he was training with it in one of the before chapters it's called _Fukushaten Enjou._**

**joekool - He won't.**

**K3 - The Author has another one, I'm not sure what it's called though. You are 100 correct. **

**kodomo - Hanabi is in Neji's place and Neji is in Hanabi's. Young children can be very impressionable. Hanabi is the daughter of Hizashi and Hinata and Neji and the Daughter and son of Hiashi.**

**dragoninvoid – You shouldn't ask questions which will be answered before you will get an answer If that makes any sense. I'm sick of saying this, But No he won't. He cannot use any hand seals thus he cannot replicate the shadow clones. Yes, that scene was amusing.**

**madnarutofan – You know I'm joking. Ha, ha, we'll never really know. I don't really want to turn this story into just a cover up for a pairing. Story first Pairing later.**

**Yo – Who said it was a joke? Between having to sit next to the person who said he was to weak to be a friend with and Hinata. He chose Hinata. Because she has blue hair, Although you have a point, If I do a rewrite then I will change the minor flaws like the flat dialogue and that part. **


	12. Team choices P2

**Why is the world round? Why do people use why in everyday life? Why is Why such a usable word? This was suppose to be part of the first chapter, But you all can dance as far as I am concerned, and I will play the music. **

_**You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one.**_

****

_**

* * *

**_

_**Inside the Academy**_

Naruto chuckled softly to himself as he made his way through the hallways of the Academy. Instead of his previous rush Naruto was simply lounging around the halls. A smile appeared on his lips as he caught sign of the telltale blue of Hinata's hair.

Turning his lounging pace into a slight jog Naruto sped up slightly and in no time at all made it to Hinata's side. He was greeted by a small smile and a murmur of; "Good morning Naruto-kun. "

"Morning Hinata-sama. "Came the reply. Hinata frowned gently and stopped walking. Slowly she turned to Naruto and stared him directly in his eye. The intense thought behind the white pupils of Hinata's eyes caught Naruto by surprise and he simply stood their staring back into Hinata's eyes.

'_Why is she staring at me like that? Have I done something wrong? This isn't about Neji is it? I wonder…'_

"Why do you address me with sama?" she asked softly breaking the silence and causing Naruto to flinch lightly. Naruto after his flinch answered robotically.

"I, as your father said upon the first am to refer to you with the utmost respect. " Hinata's frown deepened slightly. Naruto stood in front of her mildly confused. _'This is what is upsetting her?'_ Thought Naruto flabbergasted. Just as he was about to open his mouth Hinata spoke again.

"Can't you respect me and be informal also? " Hinata demanded to know, her voice still as soft as ever. Her words gave Naruto an externally induced inner conversation.

'_She's right you know, you've known her practically forever, and you're not in the Complex any longer. '_

'_But still, it would be unbefitting of me to address her so informally. '_

'_She just asked you if you could address her informally. '_

'_You raise a valid and unrefusable point.'_

'_Case closed. '_

A light poke to the stomach drew Naruto into the real world. In the same place as before Hinata stood gazing back at him expectantly. The whites of her eyes sparkled just under the surface making Naruto mellow further.

"Hinata…Chan? " Naruto asked softly. In response Hinata all but squealed and launched herself at Naruto, flinging her arms around his neck and pulling him into a one-sided hug. After a few moments of no response Hinata let go of Naruto and placed her hand under his chin, angling his head to allow her to look directly into his eyes.

Peering into Naruto's eyes it didn't take Hinata long to realise the problem. Blushing slightly she thought, _'Oops, to much power. '_Before she placed her left hand into the **Ram** hand seal and whispered; "**Kai**. "Softly before quickly moving back into her original position.

Naruto blinked a few times before reaching to the back of his head and lightly scratching it releasing a soft burst of awkward laughter. After a few moments of laughing Naruto queried

"Sorry but, what were we talking about Hinata-Chan? " To this Hinata simply smiled and replied. "Oh this and that Naruto-kun, we better hurry to class, otherwise we may miss the sorting." The small smile upon Hinata's lips grew ever so slightly as Naruto nodded and began to walk again beside her to the class room.

As they walked Hinata asked "What did you do after you passed yesterday? " Naruto stopped in mid step and almost fell over before he quickly placed his foot back down on the ground firmly.

_First Hanabi-Chan, Then Ino-Chan, now Hinata-Chan? Why do they assume I passed?_

Turning his head to Hinata he looked at her eyes and demanded to know; "Why do you assume I passed? " To this Hinata simply looked at him concernedly. "Why else would you be here Naruto-kun?" To the retort Naruto just stared at Hinata before blushing deeply.

_Duh! Obviously I wouldn't be here if I didn't pass…_ Naruto thought as he mentally reprimanded himself. As his blush faded Naruto let out a shaky laugh before smiling at Hinata and continuing to walk.

"Why did you react that way? " Hinata asked softly continuing their session of Why's. Naruto frowned slightly, deep inside he felt as if he had just lost something. After mentally shrugging it off he replied.

"Ah, well you see it kind of ties into your first question. When I first got out Sasuke was there and told me we could be friends again. "Hinata nodded lightly thinking _'That's good. Naruto needs to keep his old friends. '_"But I said no. "He continued. To the last part Hinata faltered in mid step but managed to flow with it and make it appear as if she had skipped.

"You shouldn't say No so quickly. He was your friend for what, Five years? "Hinata spoke wisely. After considering what Hinata had said Naruto felt ashamed of himself. _'Even if we did end like that, I should have at least considered the possibility…_' Naruto shook his head slightly.

"I won't go back on my word, unless he says sorry. " Naruto said with a note of finality in his voice. Hinata nodded slightly before saying softly; "Continue. " Naruto nodded lightly.

"Anyway, after that Hanabi found me walking home and we talked for a bit, she asked me if we had our teams yet and well, she didn't ask if I passed either. After that Ino sort of found me and we walked to her house together talking. She didn't ask if I passed either. After that I went home and you wouldn't believe how dirty it was. But after cleaning it I went to sleep. Took me most of the night…" Naruto trailed off as they neared the door to room 5. If Naruto had at any point looked at Hinata after he had mentioned Ino he would have seen the dark look in her eyes.

'_Ino again? I thought she was just being friendly… Does she like Naruto-kun? That shouldn't be right; she didn't pay any attention to him two years ago… Maybe I'm just being paranoid. But Naruto-kun is mine! I hope he is on my team. If he is on anyone else's I'll… Do something bad!' _Hinata finished in her mind as both she and Naruto entered the room.

* * *

Glancing around the room Naruto wasn't extremely surprised to find only three people in the room beside him.

Halfway from the front of the room on the right side Sasuke sat down near the wall in all his dark glory. Naruto's eyes darkened slightly for a moment before lightening again as he remembered Hinata's words. '_We'll see if we can be friends again one day Sasuke. '_He thought lightly before he dragged his eyes away from him. Shino sat directly in the middle of the second last row leaning backwards against the desk behind him without moving.

'_Must be sleeping._' Thought Naruto idly as his eyes switched to the last person in the room who resided directly beside him; Hinata. Parting his lips he asked her softly, "Where do you want to sit? " The soft words rebated around the room softly reaching the ears of both Sasuke and Shino although only Sasuke took notice of Naruto.

At the sound of Naruto's voice Sasuke snapped his eyes to the door and locked them upon Naruto's face. For a moment Sasuke was about to ignite with anger. But a moment later another emotion surfaced in his heart; Longing.

'_Why can't we be friends Naruto? You're strong enough now, but you do not wish to be? '_Sasuke asked himself morosely. Unexpectedly a voice from the back of his mind answered him. _'Who wants to be friend with someone who doesn't care about them, only their strength? If you really want to be friends say you're sorry. '_Sasuke mentally snorted. Sasuke Uchiha say sorry? The Uchiha were above apologising for their rare mistakes.

Taking another glance at Naruto Sasuke felt a cloud of doubt forming in his mind. _'Perhaps… Perhaps I'm not above it.'_ He thought slightly deflated as he watched Naruto smile and direct Hinata to the seats they sat in the day before when Naruto had come back after his two year absence.

Gripping the desk in front of him Sasuke pushed against it lightly sliding him and his chair backwards before standing up and silently making his way over to Naruto. Just as Sasuke stood behind Naruto, Naruto turned around and faced him. '_Now or never_' thought Sasuke ignoring the doubt nagging at the corner of his mind.

"Naruto, I'm sorry. " Sasuke said quietly before turning away from Naruto and looking at the blackboard as dread filled him thoroughly at the thought of Naruto's answer to his apology. Whatever Sasuke had expected it was not what happened.

Naruto gripped Sasukes shirt and pulled him down into the chair next to him with a bright smile upon his face. "You're lucky Hinata-Chan told me I should leave it open for you to say you're sorry! " Naruto said seriously jerking his head towards Hinata slightly. Glancing to Hinata Sasuke's eye twitched as he saw the smug look upon her face before it quickly vanished as if it had never been there. In its place a soft smile was present.

Sasuke blinked dumbly before switching his gaze back to Naruto and smiling lightly. "What have you been doing the last two years? " Sasuke asked curiously. To Sasukes question Naruto smiled again and began to speak.

"Oh you wouldn't believe how much I've done! I can do really cool stuff, Like Climb walls, Walk on water, you name it and I can do it! "Naruto boasted proudly. At the mention of walking on Water Sasuke simply arched an eyebrow to his friend signalling his doubt to Naruto. At seeing the raised eyebrow Naruto simply shrugged countering it with a 'You don't have to believe me. '

Grinning lightly Sasuke nudged Naruto in the ribs whispering into his ear: "_So yesterday she was Hinata-sama, today she's Hinata-Chan? What's happened between you both? "_ Naruto smirked a little before whispering back: "_ She asked me to call her that, Did you know that because you whispered to me first she is going to do something right about n-"_ Just as Naruto had said the last word Hinata's voice calmly asked. " What are you both discussing? " sadly for Sasuke he did not take note of the underlying threat of bodily harm and simply glared at Hinata, smiling smugly as if saying ' You'll never find out. '

Hinata pouted lightly and turned to Naruto tugging on his sleeve slightly attracting his attention.

"Naruto-kuuuun, what were you talking about? "She murmured sweetly. Naruto's eyes momentarily narrowed before excessively widening at the memory of the last time he had done 'the whisper thing' to her.

Almost instantly Naruto waved his hands around quickly and blurted out:

"Sasuke just asked me why I called you Chan instead of Sama as I did yesterday! That's all I swear!" Naruto at the end of the sentence was holding onto Hinata's arm, clinging to it as if it were a life line. A blush consumed Hinata's cheeks at the close contact with Naruto initiated by him. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke saw it for the moments it was there because they were both looking else where, Hinata's arm in Naruto's case and Naruto in Sasukes case.

Hinata's mouth a moment later manifested into an 'o'. They remained like that for a minute until the doors of the classroom slid open and in a steady stream their fellow newly initiated Genin strode in talking animatedly among themselves. Without a moment hesitation the three students quickly slid into 'proper student mode' and faced the front in their individual fashions.

Most of the Students had entered and taken their spot around the room. A sudden commotion from outside the classroom caught Naruto's attention. Turning his head towards the Door Naruto was only mildly surprised to find both Ino and Sakura pushing through the door at the same time.

Unexpectedly both of the girls lunged in at the same time almost in exact synchronization. Naruto stifled a chuckle as he watched them both 'scan' the room in search of Sasuke. In a split second Sakura had found the top of Sasukes head.

Sasuke at the moment of the commotion folded his hands together and slouched slightly trying to hide himself from the view of the door. Sadly the top of his hair was still visible to the specialised 'Sasuke detecting eyes' of Sakura.

"SASUKE-KUN! "Shrieked Sakura as she sprinted towards Sasuke. Just as she turned to slide into the row she found two obstacles in her way, namely Naruto and Hinata. "Out of the way Hinata! " Demanded Sakura as she drew her fist back and prepared to physically attack Hinata. Hinata simply sat their questionably gazing at Sakura.

Naruto on the other hand was glaring at the pink haired girl untrustingly. The moment Sakura's arm moved towards Hinata in violent intentions Naruto struck his hand towards Sakura's throat sending a surge of Chakra from every one of the tenketsus in his palm. In a single moment the Chakra had bathed Sakura's form in its entirety. In the second moment just as Sakura's hand was about to come within a centre meter of Hinata's body the Chakra enclosed on her body instantly freezing it in place.

Behind Sakura Ino was chuckling softly at her 'friends' predicament. The moment she had seen Naruto and Hinata sitting with Sasuke she had vied to stay back in case anything like this had happened. '_Better her then me.'_ Mused Ino as she saw Naruto stretched his fingers outwards and sent Sakura flying backwards into the desk behind her.

Nothing but silence was heard in the room. From the moment Sakura had shouted Sasukes name everyone in the class had focused on the girl. The moment she had frozen the conversations changed to whispers. The moment she had been flung back the whispers turned to silence.

Everyone but Hinata and Ino were staring at Naruto in shock. Both Hinata and Ino had almost identical knowing smiles on their faces. Naruto reached to the back of his head and scratched it slightly letting out a hollow laugh before turning to Sasuke.

The moment his eyes came into contact with Sasukes Naruto could tell something was wrong, the fact Sasuke was glaring at him was enough of a notice. Frowning Naruto turned to the front of the room and laid his head down against his arms.

'_I thought Sasuke didn't like his fan girls. '_Naruto thought confusedly as he stared off into space, waiting for Iruka to show up. A few minutes later Naruto was spared the unlimited silent given by the awed, envious and outraged members of the classroom.

Iruka walked normally into the room, each of his steps sending a tendril of sound throughout the room. At each foot fall the majority of the room flinched. Iruka turned to face the classroom and yelled.

"QUIET DOWN! "To which everyone flinched. Hearing no change in the classrooms decibel level Iruka looked up annoyed and just as the words were on the tip of his tongue Iruka's eyes widened. '_They were already quiet… '_He thought in awe. Quickly glancing around the room Iruka noticed quite a few of his soon to be Ex-students were staring at Naruto.

After clearing his throat to attract their attention Iruka began.

"To those of you here today well done, you have graduated. You will now be divided up into three-man teams. The Teams are as following. "At that point Naruto zoned out only barely listening for familiar names.

"_Team 6; Hinata, Shikamaru, Chouji."_

'_I'm not on Hinata's team? Well Maybe I'll be on Sasukes.'_

"_Team 7; Ino, Sasuke, Kiba. "_

'…_This is bullshit.'_

"_Team 8: Sakura, Shino and Naruto. "_

'_OVER MY DEAD BODY.'_

The second Iruka had called out his name Naruto snapped and slammed his fist against the table underneath him standing up quickly and knocking the chair out from underneath him. "What's the big idea? "Demanded Naruto. Everyone besides Hinata, Sasuke and Ino moved away however slightly at the display of anger.

Coughing lightly Iruka shuffled the papers in front of him. He had nothing to fear from Naruto or so he thought, but he wasn't going to take any chances considering how the other students were acting.

"Naruto, these are all approved by the Hokage. If you have any complaint please take them up with him. "Iruka said pacifying with a small smile upon his lips.

Naruto's left eye twitched and with a single movement he vaulted over the desk in front of him and sailed through the air. The moment the soles of his feet hit the ground Naruto turned towards the door and quickly walked out of the room. Blinking Iruka kept his eyes on Naruto the time until he walked from the view of the classroom.

A few seconds later a muffled voice was heard. An old man draped in red and white stumbled into the room, behind him walked Naruto pushing him into the room. Iruka and everyone of the students sat in shock as Naruto pushed the Sandaime into the room.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING NARUTO! "Yelled Iruka as he franticly waved his arms around. Naruto simply shrugged and pointed back to Iruka. "You told me to. " Iruka had the decency to blush before quickly rushing around to the other side of his desk and apologising to the Sandaime.

"I'm sorry sir! I didn't realise Naruto would get you. "

The Sandaime just sighed nodding to Iruka before turning to Naruto and glaring at him mildly.

"What did you want Naruto? "The Sandaime asked warily as he reached up to his eyes and rubbed the sides of his nose between them. Naruto hmphed lightly before pointing to the stack of papers in front of Iruka.

"Why am I not on Hinata-sama's team? It is my duty to protect her! PUT ME ON HER TEAM NOW! "Naruto pouted afterwards and activated** Kiraboshi-Ai** staring purposely into the Sandaimes eyes.

After a few moments of being subjected to **Kiraboshi-Ai** The Sandaime stared back normally unaffected. Naruto sighed as he deactivated the technique. Just as Naruto was about to plead again with the Sandaime, he spoke up.

"Alright Naruto, It shouldn't be that hard to change the teams around, But you owe me. " A whoop of joy issued from Naruto's mouth as he jumped up into the air thrusting his fist up before smiling and slapping The Sandaime lightly on the back.

"Thanks old man! " Naruto said happily turning around and walking back to his seat. The Sandaime turned to the class and cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry for the delay, but there will be a few changes to the teams. Team six will be composed of Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji and Nara Shikamaru as per requested by your families. Team seven; Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. Team Eight will comprise of Haruno Sakura, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba. I hope this is to everyone's liking. "Just as Ino was about to protest the Sandaime disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Smiling Naruto turned to Hinata and Sasuke only to find they were both sporting slightly different Facial expressions. Sasuke was smiling slightly, but still was giving Naruto a weird look. Hinata on the other hand was blushing a brilliant shade of red. Naruto released a small burst of laughter at Hinata before aptly cutting it short seeing the potential glare she was about to sport.

Turning back to the front of the room Naruto folded his arms on the desk and laid his head against them. After a few moments Iruka nodded to himself and began to read off the rest of the teams. Grumbling Naruto slowly drifted off to sleep. Unbeknownst to him a few rows behind Ino was slowly getting more agitated by the moment, and all of it was directed at him.

'_How dare he! I had a great...An alright team! And he just demanded them be changed so he and Hinata could be on the same team? AND I GET THESE TWO?' _Ino thought bitterly as she glanced to her two new team-mates. Without a second thought Ino launched herself at Naruto intent on ringing his neck.

And she did just that, the moment she came within reach Ino slid her fingers around Naruto's neck and dug her fingers in. She was rewarded with the squishing feeling of flesh under her fingers. Naruto awoke violently to the pain of someone strangling him. Instantly his hands went to his throat gripping Ino's wrists and prying her hands away.

Turning around quickly Naruto let go of Ino's wrists and stared her in the eye unsurely.

"Ino-Chan? "

"Don't Ino-Chan me! How dare you make it so I'm with those two?" Ino snarled out trying to grip Naruto's neck again. Sighing Naruto continued to fend off the murder attempt of Ino before having had enough and grasping her hands with his.

"Sorry about that. But it had to be done. "Naruto winced slightly as he realised that had been the wrong thing to say, Ino's hands squeezed his tightly. Grunting slightly Naruto tried to put more tension in his hand to stop it from collapsing.

'_Crap, Bad idea. '_

"Alright, I'll make it up to you, I promise!" Naruto pleaded lightly his hands starting to hurt from the pressure being exserted by Ino. As soon as the words left his lips Ino's hands loosened slightly. Looking up into Ino's eyes he flinched as he saw her smiling sadistically.

'_Can't be good…'_

"Anything? " Ino asked innocently enough. Taking a moment to think about it Naruto reasoned that Ino wouldn't subject him to anything to horrible. Just as he was about to Nod the pressure returned, apparently he had not decided quickly enough.

"Anything! " Naruto confirmed sighing in relief as Ino let go of his hands. Ino smiled down at Naruto happily.

"Great! You can come shopping with me on Saturday. I need some new clothes. "She said offhandedly as she slipped out of the row and headed back to her previous seat. Ignoring the frightened looks everyone in the room was giving her. Internally Ino was confused.

'_Why was he holding back his strength? I'm sure if he wanted to he could have reversed the situation. But that turned out better then I expected, I can have a whole day getting second opinions on clothing! Score! '_

Ino giddily sat back down in her seat smiling to herself.

Back down next to Naruto Hinata was twitching slightly.

Sasuke was blinking confusedly.

Naruto was wincing as he touched his hands

Iruka was waiting patiently.

The door opened.

A large group of Jounin's appeared in the hall way and called for various teams. Waiting patiently Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata kept their eyes on the door waiting for one of them to call out ' Team Seven ' but the call never came. Looking around the room Naruto saw that only they remained in the room. Sighing softly he settled down and waited.

An hour later the patience Naruto had accumulated over the last two years had been spent, angrily he stood up ready to explode. And it was at that point the door once again opened. But this time to reveal a single person. Blinking Naruto took a few moments to process the person.

_Grey hair…_

_One eye…_

" Team Seven, Rooftop. "

_Lazy voice…_

"ANBU-CHAN! "Screamed Naruto as loud as he could before vaulting over his desk to the door of the classroom and running as fast as he could to the outside of the Academy. Once he had cleared the building Naruto turned around and once again compressed Chakra at the bottom of his feet, only releasing it in a small burst instead of a large explosion.

The propulsion from the small burst sent Naruto onto the roof of the Academy, landing easily in front of his new Instructor.

" Anbu-Chan!" explained Naruto happily before launching himself at the man in front of him. The grey haired figure laughed as Naruto hugged him and placed his hand upon Naruto's head ruffling his hair gently. "Naruto, Please take a seat while we wait for your team-mates. " he said lazily pointing to one of the barriers around the rooftop.

Nodding slightly Naruto let go of the ex-Anbu and sat down as instructed. Moments later both Sasuke and Hinata arrived via a staircase and looked weirdly at Naruto. '_ People are doing that a lot today. '_Thought Naruto offhandedly as he smiled at both of them.

"Hi, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I will be your Instructor until you become a Chuunin or get killed, one of those." Kakashi said casually. Hinata stared wide eyed at Kakashi. Sasuke tensed slightly. Naruto yawned, before smiling again at Kakashi.

" Alright, To start things off you should introduce yourselves with your Name, Likes, Dislikes, Dreams, and favourite Come Come Paradise volume. " Seeing their blank looks Kakashi realised his mistake. " Ignore the last part. You, Blue haired girl. Start us off please?" Hinata blushed lightly before opening her mouth to speak.

" Wait, Anbu-Chan can you tell us about yourself first?" Naruto cut in curiously looking at Kakashi. Kakashi under his mask scowled lightly before speaking.

" My name is Hatake Kakashi, Not Anbu-Chan. I like Reading, I dislike People stopping me reading. My dreams are not of your concern and my Favourite volume is the Valentines Day Twin Paradox special. Now you're turn. " Kakashi said pointing to Hinata again at the end of his small speech.

Hinata nodded lightly before beginning

" My name is Hyuuga, Hinata. I like my family and Naruto-kun. I Dislike Kumogakure. I want to be a medic-nin like my mother when I grow up. " Hinata said softly, looking away from Naruto at the first part. Kakashi nodded lightly before pointing to Naruto.

" Your turn Naruto. "

Naruto smiled before he began.

" Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto as you all know, I like Hinata-Chan, Hanabi-Chan, Guard-san, Neji , Anbu-Chan's, Sasuke training. I dislike the time I spend away from them. My dream is to be an Anbu like Anbu-Chan! I have no idea what that book is but I choose Volume Ten? "

Kakashi nodded knowingly. "Volume Ten, Good plotline I'll give it to you to borrow one day. " Naruto nodded slightly confused before smiling.

" And Finally, You. " Kakashi said pointing to Sasuke.

" My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I like Naruto and Training. I dislike a lot of things. It isn't much of a dream. I prefer to call it an Ambition. And it is to…Remove certain mans genitals and beat him to death with them. " Sasuke finished darkly.

Silence encompassed the rooftop as each of the others processed the last bit of information.

' _Sasuke wants to kill someone with their own … EWW! '_

' _Sasuke-san must hate them very much… '_

' _This team has potential, I have a Medic-nin, A Psychopathic boy obsessed with killing his brother… I think. And Naruto, What do I call Naruto? I'll just call him You-Don't-Know-Who. Yeah that works. '_

Outside of his head Kakashi nodded slowly before smiling at his three charges.

"Take the rest of the day off I have a special mission for you tomorrow. Meet at Training grounds seven at Seven O'clock. "Kakashi said as he mentally refrained from pulling out the little orange book in his pouch.

Naruto blinked lightly. " Wait, A Mission already? What kind? "

Kakashi shrugged lightly.

"Just an exercise between us four. Oh before I forget. " Kakashi chuckled slightly. " You guys are going to flip. "

Naruto twitched, "Tell us already! "He demanded. Kakashi shrugged again before smiling at Naruto.

"It has a 66.6 failure rate. Those who fail are sent back to the Academy for another year. "

All three Genin froze as the words rolled off Kakashi's tongue.

"Oh, and don't eat, you'll throw up if you do." Kakashi said offhandedly as he using the All-purpose **Body Flicker Technique **disappeared in the same puff of smoke in which he had in the classroom.

Deeply shaken Hinata looked to Naruto for comfort and found nothing. Naruto was staring at the ground focused directly on it. He remained like that for a few moments more before looking up to meet Hinata's eyes and smiling to her.

"He was just joking I think, About the Percent that is. " He said softly before turning to Sasuke and reverting back to his normal self. Hinata felt the load lift slightly off her shoulders as she saw Naruto normally conversing with Sasuke.

" So, anyway, do either of you want to go and get anything to eat? "

Sasuke snorted lightly before smiling at Naruto and nodding. Both Sasuke and Naruto afterwards faced Hinata and stared at her expectantly. Hinata simply blinked before realising what they wanted.

'_They want me to go with them?'_ she questioned herself before meeting Naruto's eyes again and Nodding her confirmation. "So, I heard of this noodle place in town, want to check it out?" Naruto said as he and his two friends headed down from the Rooftop and into the streets of Konoha.

* * *

**Nobodykaries - But you never said start.**

**BlackAdder42 – Thanks**

**Azuresky123 – I plan to.**

**Clueless97 – Why wouldn't she have something like that?**

**Fallen Dragon – I'll update your face! Telling me to update quicker wont' make me update quicker, it will just make me slow down to spite you. **

**K3 – with Neji he has a brotherly thing going on, Pranks and Jokes are their thing. The Hinata thing Naruto has to do, because Hiashi said to him the first night. However he never said anything about Neji. Don't we all love technicalities?**

**Viky – Like a Fox?**

**FairyQilan – Maybe a Medusa thing, Except Naruto can choose the elements which it can be used as.**

**Kodomo – I'm to bored to check, So lets just say yes.**

**The dark icon writers – I've seen two before. That could be a side story, Guard in Toy town. He has to fight various toys to get out alive. I just got back from my Fathers so I will try?**

**DotDotDotMan – Negative Alpha-one No 'Kyuubi eyes' And No Omghax0rz speed. I REFUSE to use some lame bogus copout of an attack in this story unless it suits my purposes and is funny.**

**Silence is much more damaging then whispers. Think of it this way. A boy with a hunch back and a Freddy crugar face went to school. They would fear him and run away. The boy now thinks there is something wrong with him and never fully develops socially.**

**In this Naruto has the ninja on his side so blah, blah, and blah. Anyway, you think it sounds good? Thanks. Perhaps, Or maybe she is going to try and kill Ukon and Sakon. No pairing, just plutonic relationships until I find a reason and a place that won't affect the entire story.**

**I don't want to become someone who thinks only about the pairing.**

**Severyo – You need a time out.**

**Meinos877 – I'm not great, I'm just an average guy with super powers. Next person who tells me to update soon gets an E-glare.**

**Kd8gun – No, I am going to give Naruto a wide variety of girl's who are friends. And then as they mature decide on how they will spend the rest of the story. And by them deciding I mean me.**

**Wouldn't seeing someone glance at something and turn it into stone be more terrifying?**

**MingShun – Thanks **

**Anti-thule – What would the Mona-Lisa be without the background?**

**Madnarutofan – they did it because they didn't have the heart to leave the kids thinking that Naruto was all that and a bag of chips and Neji wasn't. Ha, ha, Tomorrow indeed. I'll throw in Anko for fun. It's always good to have a Seductive older woman to anger girls.**

**I can't be bothered checking but someone asked about how Naruto got his money. He doesn't have any money besides the normal pocket money a kid would get. His normal expenses are paid by the Hokage. Just to make things simple. Heres food for thought, Which Hokage?**

* * *

Superman-OUT! 


	13. TaiGenNin The three lessons

**God Dammit, the computer crashed while I was typing this chapter up and wiped everything I had written. Instead of saving the document Word simply hexed itself with a freaking spoon.**

**I've found something about myself annoying. In the beginning I resolved to make each part of a chapter at least 500 words long. After a few chapters I changed it to 800, and now I am at 1000 minimum or I feel like I'm cheating the world, Funny how my quota doubled in the week this has been created. Annoying how I can't leave it at 600ish words.**

**You'll notice how most characters lack dialogue. Or rather the entire story lacks it. I'm not a very vocal person. Or at least, I'm not a very vocal person to people I don't know well or like.**

**So ANYWAY, I have to stop at the first 1k part because I have a commerce assignment due yesterday. Back! And moving on.**

**Anyway, I lost interest in writing it for a bit and I'm not really that interested still. But Hell, I made a website! I **

**Free . hostultra . com/ Surarrin / Index . htm**

**Aren't I generous?**

**Anyway, the Review responses will be on the Reviews Chapter number page.**

* * *

**_Training field number seven_**

Squinting his eyes Naruto stared into the lightening darkness around him. In front of him Training field 7 resided ominously. The grounds were silent being broken only by the soft skitters of the wild animals roaming around the forest floor. As a yawn threatened to erupt from his mouth Naruto clamped his mouth shut to stifle it and continued walking towards the clearing next to the small river passing through the field.

A small smile lit up on Naruto's lips and spread like wild fire upwards brightening his eyes. In the small distance between him and the clearing Naruto could make out the soft cream white of Hinata's jacket. Slowing down slightly Naruto crept forwards to the edge of the clearing taking a moment to observe Hinata.

Over the past two years she had changed dramatically. Although to someone who had not known Hinata that well it would seem as if the only thing that had changed was her tendency to stutter. Hinata slowly turned around scanning the area around her. As she faced Naruto's spot Naruto slid back slightly behind the tree. Although his clothing choice would not give him away he was fairly sure that the right yellow of his hair would be a dead give away.

Gazing onto Hinata's face Naruto took a small moment to bask in the softness of it. The only thing that had never changed as long as Naruto had known Hinata was her face. No matter what had happened to her the soft innocence of her face was always there. Even in the moments when he would have sworn she was thinking less then savoury things it was always the same.

Deciding he had hidden for long enough Naruto stepped out from his hiding spot and into the clearing leisurely making his way towards Hinata. Like the trained warrior she was Hinata immediately picked up on the soft crunching of Naruto's boots against the crisp night grass blades.

The soft whites of her eyes stood out in stark contrast to her shadowed skin. That was one of the things Naruto liked about the Hyuuga, No matter how dark if there was light the Hyuuga would reflect it through their eyes. Smiling Naruto lifted his right arm up to wave at Hinata, but instead of moving it from side to side he simply left it there before dropping it down to his side. Mirroring his actions Hinata's face lit up with a small smile and she lifted her left arm up waving her hand slightly before placing it back at her side.

"Good morning Hinata-sama" Naruto murmured softly. Even at the low volume he had spoken the words resounded through the clearing slightly louder.

_Hinata-sama? Didn't we go over this yesterday! _Thought Hinata slightly miffed although it did not show physically "Good morning Naruto-kun. "She said softly. Pausing for a moment she shot Naruto an annoyed look to which Naruto blinked confoundedly.

_What have I done? I greeted her normally. I said Sama didn't I? Oh, I said Sama… It seems to not have gone down well_ Naruto thought progressively before reaching behind his head and scratching it softly. "Sorry, Hinata-Chan. "Naruto said with a pacifying tone to which Hinata nodded happily a look of satisfaction on her face.

A faint rustling came from the same place Naruto had walked out of causing both Hinata and Naruto to face the source of the disturbance. As both of them reached down to the pouches containing their standard Kunai and Shuriken Sasuke stepped out of the shadows passively walking towards them both.

In the instant Naruto and Hinata relaxed slightly and waited for Sasuke to make his way over to them.

"Good morning." Murmured both Hinata and Naruto softly. Instead of verbally replying Sasuke nodded towards them both and stopped beside Naruto. Soon afterwards silence began evident in the clearing.

Slowly a profound frown formed upon Naruto's lower face as he glanced from Hinata to Sasuke. On one side Hinata stood casually seeming normal and patient. But the moment Naruto's eyes met hers he could see how she really was. Hinata was nervous, extremely so. Sasuke on the other hand was obviously confident, the way he held himself and the glint in his eyes was evident enough for Naruto.

_From what Anbu-Cha- Kakashi-sensei said this has a definite chance that one of us will fail. I'm sure I can pass, I may be average but I'm good at what I know. Sasuke will pass definitely he has been training ever since he could walk from what he told me a few years ago… But Hinata-Chan… If I am to pass she will fail. I can't allow that can I?_ Naruto though gloomily.

Releasing a small sigh Naruto crouched down and placed his hand against the ground, slowly lowering himself onto the ground. Just as his weight fell onto the ground a voice pierced through the silent.

"I won't fail. "Came the voice emotionlessly lined with intent. Naruto sighed softly as he leaned backwards and rested his head against the ground.

"I know, Sasuke. "Said Naruto mirroring the lack of emotion in Sasukes voice.

_Maybe, maybe we would have been better off on different teams, at least then we could all pass._ Naruto's thought pattern went as he stared up into the starless sky. Slowly his eyes drifted closed. At the moment his eyelids shut a soft sigh was heard. Resisting the temptation to open his eyes Naruto kept them closed and tried to fall to sleep.

A sudden weight pressed down on Naruto's stomach. Whatever it was didn't weigh much that much Naruto was fairly certain of. Without warning the weight shifted slightly. Slowly Naruto's eyelids parted and he could blurry see a human shape sitting on top of him. After blinking a few times Naruto's vision focused and he was rewarded with the image of Hinata with her eyes closed sitting on his stomach. Smiling slightly Naruto shut his eyes again focusing his mind on the emptiness covering his eyes.

A small amount of time later a gentle push against Naruto's shoulders lulled him out of his sleep. Opening his eyes he for the second time in the same day caught sight of the features of Hinata. Smiling lightly he asked: "Is he here? "To which Hinata nodded lightly. With a small amount of effort Naruto sat up and looked around for Kakashi.

After a few moments of being unable to see Kakashi Naruto reasoned he was behind him. Chuckling softly Naruto slowly rose to his feet and brushed the back of his clothing with his hands to remove any dirt clinging to him. Turning around Naruto came face to chest with Kakashi.

Tilting his head upwards Naruto gave Kakashi a small smile before deflating and stepping back.

"Good morning Kakashi-sensei. " Naruto said respectfully as he bowed forwards. Kakashi nodded to Naruto before glancing to his other two charges. Both Hinata and Sasuke were facing him awaiting their instructions.

_They seem prepared individually, Will it be enough for them, I wonder._

Reaching to his side Kakashi unclipped a pair of bells from his belt. Lifting them up for all three of the Genin to see he flicked his wrist causing both the bells to jingle.

"Your objective is to retrieve a bell from me by sunrise. "Said Kakashi lazily as he lowered his hand to his belt and clipped the bells back on. Under his mask Kakashi was smiling lightly as the looks of trepidation registered on the Genins faces.

"Whoever doesn't get a bell by sunrise won't get breakfast and will be tied to one of the trees on the edge of this clearing while I eat it in front of them. " For emphasis Kakashi pointed over his shoulder to the section of trees behind him.

Naruto glowered darkly at Kakashi, while he would be able to fight with an empty stomach that was just a low blow. Glancing to his team mates Naruto wasn't surprised to find slightly similar expressions on their faces.

_So, whoever doesn't get a bell won't get breakfast. Getting a bell seems simple enough; I'll be able to get one. Sasuke obviously will be able to… But Hinata, It looks like I will have to help he… Wait, only two bells? Oh the 66.6 thing._

Naruto frowned.

"Kakashi-sensei, Why are there only two bells? "He asked dreading the answer. Kakashi chuckled before staring Naruto in the eye and smiling.

"One of you will definitely be tied to a tree. Not only does that person not get breakfast, but they will fail and be sent back to the Academy." He informed the three. Inwardly he laughed as Sasuke and Hinata tensed at the declaration. The mental laughter halted however as his eyes landed on Naruto. Instead of showing Negative emotion Naruto simply smiled at Kakashi.

Frowning beneath his mask Kakashi continued.

"Of course all three of you could be tied to the logs at sunrise also. " That had done it, Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly But then slowly changed back to their former shape and a small smile found it's place on his lips.

_Even if he is an Ex-Anbu… Together we should be able to get at least one bell._ Thought Naruto critically. Tensing his muscles Naruto prepared to begin. Turning his head to Hinata he nodded once giving her a reassuring smile before turning back to Kakashi.

"One. "

The three Genin prepared

"Two. "

Kakashi yawned accidentally.

"Three, Go."

All three Genin kicked off from the ground launching themselves up and away from Kakashi.

* * *

In the shadows of the thick foliage of the trees Sasuke stared down at Kakashi waiting for the moment when he would be able to execute his attack and complete the 'objective'. Frowning Sasuke shifted his weight from his left foot to his right foot allowing him to move the foot further from his right.

_Wait, study, predict, exploit._ Sasuke repeated over and over in his mind as he studied Kakashi's disposition. A frown found its way onto his lips as he came to the conclusion that even when standing relaxed Kakashi had no visible weaknesses to exploit.

Sasuke tensed as he saw Kakashi reach into his kunai pouch. Expecting the Jounin to withdraw the obvious Kunai Sasuke reached down to his own pouch preparing to counter any attack that would be made on his position. Instead of the metallic objects he had been expecting Sasuke watched as Kakashi withdrew a small orange book from the pouch.

After faltering for a second Sasuke focused his eyes on the book. At his current distance, Sasuke realised he would not be able to read even the book's title. _An opening!_ Thought Sasuke quickly as he watched Kakashi flick open the book and raise it into his reading sight.

Without further time to waste Sasuke gripped the Shuriken and Kunai in his hands slashing both of his arms outwards and releasing a deadly barrage of weapons. Instead of following up his attack Sasuke watched as the metal weapons cut through the air horizontally from both sides of Kakashi and tore into his body.

A smile of satisfaction over took Sasukes mouth as he watched the various object tear and slash into Kakashi's body releasing various gushes of blood from the wounds. For a split second Kakashi's body remained upright. Without warning an explosion of smoke erupted from Kakashi's body cloaking it from view. Sasuke grimaced as he saw the first wisps of smoke.

_He expected it. My position is compromised! _Thought Sasuke angrily as he turned to his right and launched himself from the branch he stood on. As soon as Sasukes foot landed on the next branch he heard a disturbance in the air. From the single foot on the branch Sasuke twists his body to the left just in time to avoid a triad of Shuriken to the torso.

"Ninja lesson number one, Taijutsu. "Came the voice from behind him. Huffing in annoyance Sasuke spun around once again. As he turned on the branch Sasuke slid his left hand in front of his body just in time, a fist connected solidly with his opened hand with enough force to send him flying backwards.

Ignoring the sudden pain flare in his hand Sasuke quickly analysed his surrounding taking note of the tree trunk directly behind him. Twisting his body as he flew backwards Sasuke positioned himself horizontal with the ground facing Kakashi's position. The moment his feet came into contact with the tree Sasuke buckled his knees allowing him to crouch against the tree. Without a seconds notice Sasuke kicked off against the tree as hard as he could flying directly at Kakashi.

As he flew through the air Sasuke once again twisted his body. Kakashi's eyes widened slightly as he saw Sasuke flying back at him with at least the same amount of force which had propelled him away.

_What a guy. _Thought Kakashi as Sasuke tore through the air towards him.

At the last moment possible Sasuke slammed the back of his heel into Kakashi's shoulder. The moment the blow was about to connect Kakashi blocked the strike with the back of his right hand. Aware that his attack had been blocked Sasuke tried to pull his foot away from Kakashi but his effort was to no avail. Kakashi's hand had found a firm grip on Sasukes ankle holding him in place.

Utilising his other leg Sasuke swung it's knee at Kakashi's stomach aiming to wind the older ninja. Before the attack had even been implemented however this time Kakashi had already blocked it with his free hand. Growling slightly Sasuke using Kakashi's hold to his advantage swung his body upwards and struck forth his right fist at Kakashi's head. A satisfied smile was cut off as Kakashi moved his hand up from his stomach into the path of the fist and caught it.

Without the momentum which carried him into his position Sasuke fell down only held up by Kakashi's hands. A slight Jingle next to his ear caught Sasukes attention causing him to turn his head to the right, on the other side of Kakashi's wasted the bells swayed slightly from the movements Kakashi was making. Quickly Sasuke reached out with his free hand trying to grasp one of the bells.

As soon as the bells jingled Kakashi realised Sasuke would go for the bells and released Sasukes limbs at the same time as he pushed Sasuke away. Lifting his feet up Kakashi split the momentum between each of them, sending both himself and Sasuke away from each other.

Sasuke snarled as he pressed his foot down against the leaf covered branch below him. Without warning a loop of rope rode up his foot and tightened around his ankle pulling Sasuke up from his place on the ground and leaving him hanging in the air upside down.

A burst of laughter issued from Kakashi as he watched Sasuke try to glare at him directly but fail from the swinging movements of the rope holding him upside down. Sasuke having had the final straw at the laughter from Kakashi reached to his Kunai pouch and flipped open the flap holding the instruments inside.

At the last moment Sasukes eyes widened as he realised what was going to happen. In slow motion Sasuke watched the various Kunai's and Shuriken dropped out of his upside down pouch and fell through the foliage scattering to the ground.

"I see you want to hang around. " Kakashi said jokingly as he reached into his Kunai pouch and withdrew his little orange book. Without a second glance at Sasuke Kakashi hopped off the branch and dropped down to the ground, making not even the smallest sound as his feet touched the terrain.

Sighing to himself Sasuke calmly waited for the rope to stop swinging so he could right his predicament.

_To be caught by the simplest of traps, how humiliating._ Thought Sasuke self-deprecatingly.

* * *

Naruto smiled grimly as he kicked off from yet another branch as he raced through the trees searching in the darkness for any sign of Hinata. Every so often he had to change direction to avoid a painful collision with the trees. A sigh of annoyance issued from Naruto as he landed on one of the thicker branches of the tree he was currently in.

_This is getting me nowhere; I cannot locate Hinata-Chan in the darkness, not without help._ Naruto thought as he took a chance to detail the terrain around him. After finding nothing to take a serious note on Naruto focused his Chakra into a thin sheet upon the soles of his boots. With a kick off from the branch Naruto found himself flying through the tree tops once again.

Smiling despite himself Naruto tore into the air relishing the feeling of the wind rushing past his face. On the bare edges of forgetting what he was doing Naruto caught a glimpse of white in the corner of his eye. Landing on the next branch Naruto stopped moving and pressed his feet down against the bark increasing the 'contact' between them and the wood.

Quickly turning around Naruto locked his eyes onto the spot he had seen the white. A frown blossomed on his face as the spot on the ground where he thought he had seen Hinata showed nothing but a small squirrel scurrying along the ground. Sighing softly Naruto turned back to the direction he had been running in to begin searching again.

"Ah!" came the surprised reaction from Naruto as he fell backwards onto the branch, barely remaining on top. Naruto stared up into the dark white eyes of Hinata who was looking down at him emotionlessly. Naruto offered Hinata a smile before he began to gather himself and return to his feet.

"Naruto-kun, have you gotten a bell yet? "She asked softly.

Naruto softly shook his head from side to side.

"I have been searching for you… "Naruto replied with the shake of laughter in his voice. Whatever sound was about to come from Naruto was harshly cut-off as Hinata glared down at Naruto hatefully and spat out "What use are you to me if you can't even get a bell?" Naruto's eyes widened slightly at the tone and word's coming from Hinata's mouth.

"S-sorry! Hinata-Chan. "Naruto said unsurely looking down at the ground. '_I knew I should have gotten a bell first. _'Thought Naruto bitterly before hazarding a glance to Hinata's eyes. He regretted his decision soon afterwards as Hinata's hate filled eyes made contact with his causing him to wince.

"Sorry won't let me pass this exam. " Hinata said coldly, her cheeks hardening slightly giving her a surreal look. '_Hinata's face never changes_ 'thought Naruto critically. Narrowing his eyes to her slightly Naruto shifted onto his right foot casually placing his weight onto his more able leg.

"Hinata-Chan, A quick question… Who did I kiss first, you or Hanabi? "Naruto asked suspiciously. Without hesitation Hinata answered.

"Me, can't you remember anything? "She said annoyed her voice carrying a slight waver in it.

Naruto's eyes flashed lightly before he smiled to Hinata.

"Actually, I have never kissed either of them. " Said Naruto casually before he struck his right palm out towards 'Hinata's head sending a surge of Chakra from his palm to wash over her body. With practice born instinct and timing Naruto solidified the Chakra around 'Hinata' instantly holding her in place.

But to his surprise Hinata stepped forwards challengingly glaring Naruto right in the eye.

"You're not Hinata. " Naruto stated lightly as he slid his right foot backwards slightly to allow him to proceed with the Hidoi Hira's movements. The impostor Hinata chuckled coldly.

"Obviously. "

Without warning Naruto slammed his hand forwards into the fakes head sending a surge of Chakra from his palm. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the fake literally vanish and appear to the left of the strike smiling coldly at him. '_Genjutsu…'_ thought Naruto angrily before he slid out of his position and shifted his body into a more comfortable position. Sighing Naruto called out slightly loud.

"Kakashi-sensei, although the Genjutsu was flawless you've gotten Hinata all wrong. Please dispel the illusion for me. "

After a few seconds a voice replied echoing from all around him.

"I'm sure you can manage with that Naruto. "

A small snort issued from Naruto's nose as he called out again.

"Umm, I can't I am unable to use hand seals to manipulate and regulate my Chakra. You'll have to explain to me how it is done. "Naruto smiled inwardly as he imagined Kakashi's reaction to the exclamation. Without warning the Genjutsu Hinata vanished and behind it for a few meters stood Kakashi his right hand holding the little Orange book up to his chest level.

"Alright Naruto, Ninja Lesson Number two: Genjutsu. Genjutsu is the art of illusion and hallucination. Genjutsu effects the mind on a conscious level and thus is hard to fight against unless you realise that it is effecting you. To Dispel a Genjutsu on you or surrounding you, you must locate the source of the influence and remove it. Manually I guess the process would be imbuing Chakra within your mental capacities and having it seek out foreign influences. In both versions it is easier to say Release to focus on the moment of dispelling. I wouldn't recommend it for you right now since you may not have the needed control over your own Chakra an…"

Kakashi fell silent as Naruto closed his eyes and began to concentrate. After a few moments Naruto opened his eyes whispering the word "**Release**. " In the instant Naruto felt the word leave his tongue Kakashi vanished in much a similar way that 'Hinata' had earlier. Smiling to himself Naruto looked around in search of Kakashi's true location. Having no indication that Kakashi was on the same level or above him Naruto quickly glanced down to the ground and could not believe his luck, at the bottom of the tree which he was standing on Kakashi was leaning against it and reading his book.

Slowly Naruto inched forwards towards Kakashi carefully treading on the bark to lower the sound created as much as possible. Just as Naruto neared the end of his branch his eyes widened in realisation. As fast as he could Naruto turned around and slid back to the base of the branch. Unfortunately for him another Kakashi sat at the beginning of the branch also reading the orange book.

A small smile developed on Naruto's mouth before slowly growing upwards and outwards into a full blown grin. Wondering what was taking so long Kakashi looked up from the current page and stared Naruto in the eye curiously.

'_What he is up to, I wonder… '_Thought Kakashi as he waited for Naruto to make his move. It came a moment later after Naruto raised both of his arms and faced his palms towards Kakashi, instantly he felt a wave of Chakra crash into him and surround him. Kakashi tensed as he prepared for whatever Naruto was about to do.

Unexpectedly Kakashi saw a flash of silver speed away from him and towards Naruto. His eyes widened as he realised what Naruto had done. '_Cleaver, But it isn't enough to pass!'_ thought Kakashi as he tried to lunge towards Naruto. But instead of moving as he had wanted to his body only shuddered slightly. Looking upon Naruto's face Kakashi realised Naruto had done something to him at the same time.

"Heh, Heh, Heh **Ningenteki Kuuden Hoorudo** Nice eh? "Said Naruto as he smirked and slowly backed away from Kakashi. Without a moment to spare Naruto clenched both of his fists and turned away from Kakashi running as fast as his legs enforced with Chakra could take him.

The moment Naruto turned around Kakashi tried again to move but found that unlike before his body would not move at all. Putting all his strength into moving Kakashi caused his arm to shudder. Hope rising at the small success Kakashi reinforced every fibre in his arm with his Chakra and tried again. Instantly he felt the force that held him bend until his arm had broken free from the hold. As soon as he felt the force against his arm weaken and dissipate the entire force holding him followed suit and released.

Chuckling to himself Kakashi looked towards the way Naruto had gone and smiled lightly.

_'Good work, But It isn't enough to pass still. '_

* * *

Quietly Hinata waited near the top of the highest tree surrounding the clearing. As she scanned the area below her Hinata felt a frown forming upon her lips.

_"_Where are you Naruto-kun…" she asked to no one at all. Without any hesitations in her actions Hinata slid her eyes closed and concentrated on spreading Chakra through and around her eyes. A sudden surge of pain erupted from the centre of her optical nerves, slowly spreading outwards from her eyes into the skin surrounding them.

Holding back her wince at the pain through years of practice Hinata opened her eyes. Without even reaching up to feel around her eyes Hinata could tell. Surrounding her eyes a quantity of veins bulged out creating detailed lines extending from each other.

Instantly the area around Hinata dissolved into an array of translucent textures. With the Byakugan activated Hinata's area perception widened and reached panoramic stage allowing her to see almost completely around her body without moving. Tilting her head down Hinata focused her vision on the forest beneath her.

Through the multitude of darkness over lapped with shades of green and brown, three separate flares of energy were visible in the darkness, two of which were racing around and the third was seemingly motionless. Hinata frowned slightly as she continued to watch the three below her.

_One's Naruto-kun he is easy to see, one is Sasuke-san, and the final one is Kakashi-sensei. But this doesn't make sense…unless!_ Hinata's eyes widened as she came to a realisation. _Kakashi-sensei must have already gotten to Sasuke-san! But that means, He is on his way here!_

As if reacting to her thoughts one of the three below her begun to move towards her. Narrowing her eyes Hinata altered her perception to a different level, shifting through the variations until she got a clear picture of the person heading towards her.

Bounding upwards from Branch to branch Kakashi travelled upwards towards Hinata. Not wasting a moment Hinata turned her back onto Kakashi and vaulted away from the tree as far as she could. Just as Hinata landed on a second tree and kicked off again further the distance between herself and the tree she had been on, Kakashi burst out upwards through the thick foliage sending a small burst of leaves into the air.

Kakashi's momentum continued to carry him up into the air. As soon as Kakashi stopped ascending his hands flashed through a set of hand seals.

"Ninja Lesson Number three: Ninjustu. "Said Kakashi loudly.

**_Tiger, Bird, Dragon, Horse!_ **Came Kakashi's thoughts as he flashed through the seals in a split second before tilting his head backwards as far as his neck would allow him and inhaling a large amount of air. Hinata's eyes widened as through the Byakugan she caught sight of the series of hand seals.

_Tiger bird dragon horse! A Fire element? I have to defend!_ She thought quickly as in midair she spun around and shielded her body with her arms. Just as Hinata prepared for the onslaught Kakashi leaned forwards in the air and exhaled. Spewing forth from Kakashi's mouth a large cloud of embers erupted within a moment the small sparks of fire in large quantity crosses the distance between them both Instantly the surrounding area was illuminated from the glow of the flames..

"Katon: Okibi Hotaru Renda." Announced Kakashi as the flood of firefly like sparks washed over Hinata clouding her from view.

Hinata grinded her teeth together as the heat from the approaching embers hit her. Thinking quickly Hinata unfolded her arms from in front of her body and flashed her hands through the critical hand seals. Keeping her eyes open Hinata watched as the sparks of crimson and gold raced towards her illuminating the darkness.

A blast of smoke issued from Hinata which instantly was over taken by the multitude of flames washing over Hinata's position. From the flames a charred figure dropped downwards into the trees crashing through the branches and hitting the ground with a dull thud. As Kakashi dropped back to the tree tops he kept his eyes locked onto the charred figure until it had disappeared beneath the trees.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu. "said Kakashi to himself before glancing up to the sky and taking notice of the few rays of light slipping over the horizon. Chuckling softly He kicked off from the tree Beneath him and descended into the slowly evaporating darkness.

A slight distance away Hinata was racing towards the energy signature she recognised as Naruto's. Ducking under a low branch Hinata boosted her speed by creating a thin film of Chakra below the soles of her feet and infusing a small portion of it into her muscles strengthing them. Suprisingly Naruto was also running directly towards her.

_He must have seen the technique used by Kakashi-sensei._ Hinata thought to herself as she continued running towards Naruto. A sudden shift in Sasukes position caused Hinata to shift her focus from Naruto onto Sasuke. Within the few moments Sasuke had moved from his location he had begun to move rabidly towards Naruto. Hinata turned her foot onto it's side and slowly skidded to a stop on the ground switching her focus back to Naruto.

_Three, Two, One.._ counted Hinata mentally. Exactly on cue Naruto burst from the tree tops and landed right in front of Hinata. Gazing onto Naruto's face Hinata was surprised to see a smile upon his lips.

" Hey Hinata-Chan! " said Naruto cheerfully.

"Naruto, Time is almost up. " Hinata said forgoing her greeting and dropping the suffixes. Naruto spared Hinata an amused look before opening his mouth. Just as he was about to start Sasuke dropped down from above them landing next to Naruto. Naruto jumped slightly in surprise before turning to Sasuke and giving him a confused look.

"Naruto, Let's both attack at the same time, we have a greater chance of procuring the bells that way. " Sasuke said wasting no time in greetings much in the same way Hinata had done only moments before. Naruto lifted his hand to his mouth stifling a small chuckle before becoming serious and nodding to Sasuke.

"You ready Hinata? "Asked Naruto as he turned to face her. Just as Hinata opened her mouth Sasuke cut her off directing his words to Naruto. "Leave the girl, let's go. " Sasuke demanded glaring Naruto directly in the eye. Naruto Turned back to Sasuke and frowned at him.

"I can't leave Hinata and knowingly let her fail the test. " Naruto said as if it were obvious. To Naruto's statement Sasuke simply snorted.

"Pathetic Idiot. " Sasuke said angrily before he kicked off the ground launching himself up into the trees in search of Kakashi by himself. Naruto shot a mild glare towards Sasukes back before turning back to Hinata and smiling awkwardly.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. "Hinata softly murmured returning a small smile to Naruto. " But I don't want you to fail because of me…" she said sadly. Laughing despite the situation Naruto stepped forwards to Hinata and wrapped his arms around her body giving her a small hug, conveniently sliding his hand into her jacket pocket and placing a small metallic object inside.

Releasing Hinata from the hug Naruto smiled to her again.

"Let's go get those bells eh? "

* * *

Hinata and Naruto stood side by side in the clearing as the sun's rays caressed the morning's sky tinting the sky and clouds orange. Across from them stood Kakashi with his little orange book grasped firmly in his hand.

"Last chance to get a bell, I'll give you five minutes to get the bell, and then; It's over. " Kakashi said casually taking a moment to look up to see both Naruto and Hinata. He was slightly surprised to see both of the Genin already in their individual Taijutsu stances.

_Taijutsu only? This might be fun._ Thought Kakashi as he checked the page number of the current place in the book he was and slid it into his Kunai Pouch. Bringing his hand up to chest level Kakashi beckoned both Naruto and Hinata with a wave of his fingers.

Instantly Both Naruto and Hinata launched themselves at Kakashi in synchronization. While Naruto aimed towards Kakashi's left shoulder Hinata lunged to Kakashi's right attacking his right shoulder with the Gentle fist sending a precise burst of Chakra into Kakashi's arm. Hinata was surprised to find she had managed to hit the tenketsus she was aiming for directly, but ignored her small success and continued to strike at Kakashi.

Naruto gritted his teeth the longer they attacked Kakashi the less effective they were, buckling his Knees Naruto lowered himself to the ground pivoting on his left foot as he hit halfway. Sweeping his leg against Kakashi's in an attempt to cause him to lose his footing Naruto spun around in a circle. Kakashi as soon as he saw Naruto lower himself jumped up in the air, and unsuspectingly left himself open to being taken advantage of.

Hinata's arm reached out towards the bell as her opposite aimed for Kakashi's opposite shoulder. Just as her finger tips glanced the metal Kakashi's other hand lashed down gripping Hinata's wrist and stopping her from grasping the bell. A moment later Hinata's wrist was released as a foot connected solidly with Kakashi's stomach sending him skidding backwards.

Once again Kakashi found himself at the point of a two pronged Taijutsu assault. Both Hinata and Naruto were already upon him and striking his body as ferociously as they had before. Silently Kakashi applauded their Taijutsu skills.

_They are well beyond their current rank in Taijutsu. It was expected from Hinata because she is a Hyuuga. But from Naruto it is entirely unexpected Two years should not have been enough to allow him to master the principles behind the Gentle fist, Let alone use it._

Suddenly a sound from Behind him caused Kakashi to deliver in quick succession two open palm strikes to Naruto and Hinata as his first offensive move sending them both flying backwards from the force put behind it. Lunging to his right Kakashi moved just in time to avoid a barrage of Shuriken aimed at his previous spot.

_Ah, I wondered when Sasuke would enter the fray._

Turning around to face Sasuke Kakashi watched as the Uchiha titled Genius charged head towards him. Within a split second Sasuke found himself laying face against the ground with Kakashi's foot against the back of his head and his arms behind his back held in the position.

"Time's up." Kakashi said calmly.

Under him Sasuke's struggling had stopped. Instead his muscles suddenly tensed waiting for Kakashi's. Kakashi moved his foot off the back of Sasukes head and released his arms, allowing him to move freely from his laying position on the ground.

"The Verdict is in and you both fail. " Kakashi said pointing first to Sasuke and then to Hinata. Both of the 'failures' eyes widened and they stared shocked at Naruto. Their target however smiled at Kakashi lightly before turning to Hinata.

"Check your pockets for me would you Hinata-Chan? " asked Naruto as he held back a chuckle. Giving Naruto a confused look Hinata nodded before reaching into both of her jackets pockets and feeling around in them.

A small jingle and the texture of Metal were Hinata's rewards. Hinata's and Sasukes eyes widened even more so as Hinata pulled out one of the bells from her Pocket, holding it palm up for Sasuke and Kakashi to see.

"Ah, so you gave Hinata your bell Naruto? That's fine, both you and Sasuke will be tied instead!" Kakashi said cheerfully and Somehow both Naruto and Sasuke were instantly tied to two trees side by side and in front of them Hinata sat on the ground staring in shock at Naruto.

"Do either of you know why you failed? " Kakashi asked Naruto and Sasuke lazily. In response Sasuke glared at Kakashi before turning away from the Jounin and facing his right. Naruto on the other hand nodded to Kakashi.

"If we teamed up in the beginning like Hinata and I did in the end we would have been able to get both bells." Naruto stated before sighing softly.

"Correct Naruto. The Key to this was Teamwork. This exercise was designed to split you apart. Now, normally I would fail you right now, but since you realised the meaning of this I will give you one last chance. " Kakashi said lazily as he turned from the Genin and began to walk away.

"Oh." Said Kakashi as he stopped walking. "Hinata, if you feed either Naruto or Sasuke you all will instantly fail." Kakashi said in a cold voice.

Instantly all three Genin froze.

_I can't feed Naruto?_

_Humph, I don't need food._

_That's fine with me, I'm not hungry yet I think Hinata-Chan is though._

Naruto chuckled softly as Kakashi began to walk away again. A few minutes later Hinata snuck a glance to Naruto and Sasuke and noticed they were both giving the food a hungry look although it was more pronounced on Naruto's face.

Standing up Hinata walked over to Naruto with one of the boxes of food and picked up a piece with the set of chopsticks Kakashi had left with the meal.

"Say: Ah. "Hinata said jokingly to Naruto as she tried to manoeuvre the food into his mouth. Naruto closed his mouth tightly and shook his head, only opening his lips again once the food was no where near it.

" Feed Sasuke, he needs it more." Naruto said urgently. Hinata gave Naruto an unsure look but nodded to him and walked over to Sasuke, holding a piece of food up to his lips for him.

"I can't sense him. " Sasuke said moments before leaning forwards and taking a bite of the food.

Just as Naruto was about to chuckle a large mass of clouds formed in the sky removing any and all traces of light the sun had provided in the small time it had risen. Streaks of lightning tore through the clouds from one to another followed by a series of loud thunder claps.

From a few meters away from the edge of the clearing where they resided a large explosion shook the ground and sending a hollow sphere of dust surging outwards. Suddenly a figure loomed upwards from the smoke glaring angrily at all three of the ninjas.

"You dare disobey me! "Snarled Kakashi as he flashed his hands through a number of seals ending in the **Tiger** seal. Steeling themselves all three Genin prepared for whatever Kakashi was going to do to them as best they could which in itself was saying much. Whatever they expected it was not what happened. A small chuckle issued from Kakashi's mouth causing the three Genin to blink in confusion.

"You pass!" said Kakashi happily as he leaned forwards placing his hands upon his hips.

"What!" exclaimed all three Genin at different levels of sound.

"You pass, Although Ninjas who don't follow the rules are called trash, those who don't take care of their friends are worse then trash." Kakashi said passionately as he parted his hands and dispelled the technique he had employed. Lifting his hand up Kakashi pointed to his left.

All three Genin followed the finger to an obsidian monument on the far side of the field.

"See that stone? All the names carved into it are what the people of this village call heroes. They lost their lives while serving…My best friends name is also carved there." Kakashi said emotionlessly.

A melancholy silence fell on the clearing as all three Genin processed the information Kakashi had given them.

"Tomorrows the weekend isn't It?" Kakashi asked his three charges. After receiving a nod from each of them Kakashi continued "Take the next two days off, We will start our proper missions on Monday. Until then, rest." And with that Kakashi strode off leaving the three Genin by themselves.

* * *

**Katon: Okibi Hotaru Renda: _Fire Release: Blazing Firefly Barrage._**

**OMG HAX! Actually done, I don't like school it has many bad things which limits my time.**


	14. Two days, Two girls

**Started half a day later from Chapter 13. I didn't type the link right and it got wiped. Foolish me. But it's corrected now.**

**NOTICE! ((NOTICE THIS)FOR IT SAYS NOTICE)**

**For those who didn't read it last time, The reviews are on the website link from my profile. This way I can avoid the deadly barrage of naked women. And also keep the chapter length in rigid proportion with the actual length.**

**I am on 91 people's alert lists! Should I expect 91 reviews? Nope. 'cause they all suck. Except for the great people who review. Such as anti-thule with his 'review' reviews, Great things and funny to see. That isn't to guilt you into reviewing, 'cause I like the word 'cause, but seriously, 'cause I don't want input from people who are to lazy to even think of the word review.**

**I got up to the and my father showed up, So I went with him, played games at his house then went to the Hunter Valley gardens……..And bought lots of jelly beans. Of course not just any jelly beans, I got Jelly Belly beans! The best, Original and Gourmet beans! Now I just have to remember where I was going with this.**

**I got up to when I received Yo's review, So blame him for everything good and bad after it. Mu-hoo-ha-ha**

**Another thing, If you review pick a character and give a 50ish word summary of what you think of their personality.**

**Something I've noticed which I don't doubt everyone else has also, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro don't have last or clan names. I'm pretty sure their father had one. Does it mean that a Kages offspring are only addressed as Of VILLAGE? If Naruto was really the Yondaimes son and Kyuubi never attacked would Naruto have grown up known as Naruto of Leaf? It sounds weird.**

**Ino's theme is the following.**

_**A hit is hard to resist  
And I never miss  
I can take you out  
with just a flick of my wrist**_

**_Super vixen – Garbage_**

**Hinata's theme**

_**There she was with her hair  
Flowing down in blue cascades  
Love, lapping at her feet  
Life, dancing in a masquerade  
My completeness**_

_**My Completeness – Thirsty Merc**_

**And for Hanabi, it's a hard choice but I think I have it**

_**And is she really human?**_

_**She's just so something new**_

_**A waking lithium flower**_

_**Just about to bloom**_

_**I smell lithium now**_

_**Lithium Flower – ( Ghost In a shell: Stand alone complex)**_

**If you have any suggestions for themes tell me.**

**Oh before I forget Naruto's theme is this. **

_**Life is just a game, We all end up the same.**_

_**So let's be free, so come along with me.**_

**The real Naruto's theme…**

**_So am I still waiting?_**

**_For this world to stop hating,_**

**_Can't find a good reason,_**

**_Can't find hope to believe in._**

_**Still Waiting – Sum 41**_

**Or at least it would be If I remembered the song, It was very obscure when I heard it. And by obscure I mean it had no information given about it. **

**So in other words, If you can be bothered pick a character and give an off the head theme and description. **

**---**

Ino hummed softly to herself as she passed her brush for the ninety ninth time through her hair. A smile blossomed on her lips as she passed it through her platinum blond hair for the hundredth and final time. Passing her hand between her long hair and her neck she flicked it backwards sending her hair flailing behind her in a cascade of flowing strands.

Satisfied with the sleek flow of her hair Ino collected the length of it with her left hand and passed a blue hair band over the base of it keeping the, majority of her hair behind and in place. A soft caress against her cheek made Ino look to her left and smile as she saw her fringe drift to the side.

_Perfection is my name!_ She thought pridefully to herself as she slid into a pose and winked at herself.

After critically processing every part of her body for 'imperfection' Ino decided that she as always looks as best she could.

_Good enough to make his life hell._ Thought Ino deviously as she walked over to her dressing table. Gripping the handle of one of the drawers Ino pulled open the compartment peering inside for a moment before locating her objective, down in the drawer a small pink book sat on top of a small neat pile of purple clothing. On the spine of the book a pen was clipped onto it giving the impression of a diary.

'_Things to do. '_Ino read off the title of the book in her mind making sure it was the one she needed. Picking up the book Ino nudged the drawer with her hip sliding it closed. Holding the book in front of her Ino dragged her finger down the pages edge until she felt a slight difference in the paper, gripping the small piece out of line Ino opened the book to a certain page.

'_Saturday Objective list.'_ Read the top of the page. Gleefully Ino sat down on her bed and began to re-read what she had written a few days before.

_1. Cloth shopping Aprox. Time? **Three hour. **_

Ino chuckled darkly. Any boy she subjected to three hours of cloth shopping would be easy to work with. After all, Three hours alone with Ino in clothing shop was the line between heaven and hell. Moving her eyes slightly down Ino came to the next objective for the day.

_2. Manicure Aprox. Time? **Unknown.**_

Ino frowned slightly, Nothing was below the Manicure objective.

'_This is bad...I need seven hours Minimum!' _ thought Ino despairingly as she racked her mind for different activities they could participate in for the day. Ino's eyes flashed and she plucked the pen from the spine of the book.

Pressing the cap of the pen to let lips Ino parted them and lid the lid into her mouth, biting down on it and pulling the pen out of the protection of the lid. Aiming the Tip of the pen at the page Ino wrote in a flourishing script.

_3. Movies! Aprox. Time? **Two hourish.**_

Ino blinked as she stared at the ending of hour. '_ Ish? Since when do I write ish? '_ she thought shaken before pressing the tip of the pen back to the paper and scribbling out the 'ish' part of hour.

Giggling lightly to herself Ino shut the books cover and placed it beside her on her bed. Happily Ino sled off her bed onto the ground and walked out of her room gripping the edge of the door and pulling it shut as she exited.

Just as Ino turned towards the Kitchen the jingle of the front stores bell rang through the walls causing Ino to stop and turn towards the door on the opposite side of the hallway. The buffered smell of compost hit Ino's nose causing her to crunch her nose up. Use to the smell Ino released her nose moments after and made her way down to doorway which connected the Flower shop to her house. Peering through the small glass circle cut out of the door Ino caught sight of Naruto staring at one of the more intricate floral decorations near the front of the shop.

Quietly Ino turned the handle of the door in front of her, slowly opening it forwards and sliding between the gaps. Just as quietly Ino slid the door closed again and let go of the door and made her way over to Naruto.

Naruto simply stood marvelling at the floral arrangement his eyes stuck on a particularly vivid blue flower at the centre of the masterpiece.

"Like it? "Whispered Ino from behind him causing Naruto to flinch slightly and turn around. Unsurprised to see Ino behind him Naruto gave her a small smile and nodded before turning back to the floral arrangement.

At the lack of attention displayed by Naruto Ino frowned.

"You belong to me today, so pay attention! "She snarled grabbing Naruto by the arm and forcefully turning him around. Naruto as his eyes met Ino's blinked before looking down at the ground and mumbling.

"Sorry Ino-Chan. "

A small frown blossomed on Ino's face. _ If he isn't mildly happy I can't break him…_ thought Ino despairingly before she **turned her frown upside down** and smiled at Naruto. Placing her hand under Naruto's chin Ino tilted his head upwards and stared him directly in the eye.

"No being sad, today you have to be happy, Kay? " Ino said softly.

Ino internally cheered for herself as Naruto's face morphed from the expressionless mask it had been a moment before to a small smile. Without wasting a moment Ino gripped Naruto's hand and dragged him out of her family shop and into the street.

** Intermission **

If you haven't already read **With the heart and underwear of Fire** by **Diamond Avatar** go read it now, Chapter tens Itachi mock almost made me die, BY MY OWN SALIVA! That is right, I almost choked on my own saliva. So, I command you to love the story.

** End Intermission **

Five minutes later Ino was leading Naruto towards one of Konoha's most _fabulous_ formal clothing shop.

"This is the newest place!" rambled on Ino to Naruto who for all intent and purpose was listening to her. "It has some really nice things from some foreign place. But they are so cool! "

Naruto nodded to Ino as he walked beside her. Although he enjoyed spending time with other people he had severe doubts about going clothes shopping as Ino had told him they were going as soon as they had left her place.

Not before to long Naruto and Ino stood in front of an impressively white building. The front of the building had several windows showing life sized dolls of humans. Just as Naruto was able to switch his eyes from the manikins to study the exterior Ino's hand grasped his wrist and begun pulling him into the building. Deciding he did not want another episode like from the Academy Naruto obliged her and walked into the building.

The first thing Naruto noticed about the inside of the building was the sterile white that covered every wall, the roof and even the floor. _Like the Infirmary._ Thought Naruto as he glanced around uneasily, wondering if Ino had mistaken the place and if they were in a hospital.

"Umm, Ino are we in the right place? "Asked Naruto warily as he continued to look around the buildings interior. "There isn't even a clothing rack here. "He said slowly. True to Naruto's words the only objects in the entire room were a few low white tables scattered across the white marble floor.

"Do you doubt me Naruto?" asked Ino as she bemusedly struck a marble plate on the side of the door. Instantly the plate sank into the wall until it came into alignment with the wall itself. The sound of air being sucked out of the room filled Naruto's ears and caused him to go into high alert worried that something would happen.

Whatever Naruto expected It wasn't what happened, From all of the walls shadow lines appeared in the shape of rectangles as sections of the wall detached from the walls and slid outwards a few meters into the room. From what Naruto could see from the former parts of the wall a rack connected it and went into the wall and on the rack were articles of clothing.

In a few moments the entire room's walls were lined with racks of to Naruto's surprise multi-coloured clothing. Naruto's mouth opened in awe and confusion as Ino grabbed his arm again and dragged him to one of the many tables.

Naruto blinked as Ino left him and headed towards one of the racks and spent the next five minutes sifting through the various articles of clothing. Turning back to Naruto Ino held a royal purple dress up to her chest for him to see.

The dress itself was unlike anything Naruto had ever seen himself, Unlike the traditional kimono's the dress at the cuffs flared out delicately into leaf like patterns embroiled in a deep forest green. The same deign was evident on the bottom of the dress following it around the entire base.

"What do you think? " Ino asked absently as she looked down at the dress. "I'll try it on. "She decided a moment later turning around, Only to be a stopped by Naruto's alarmed voice.

"Try it on? Here! OUT here! "He asked incredulously.

Ino gave him a bemused look before walking to the wall beside the clothing rack nearest to them and gripping an almost unseeable handle. Softly tugging the handle Ino revealed a small changing room with a mirror on the back side of the door. Turning to Naruto Ino winked before walking into the room and closing the door behind her.

Despite himself Naruto was curious to see the clothing the store had to offer, If by example of what Ino had chosen the ladies wear were at least top grade and as Ino had said the clothing were 'cool' or as Naruto would put it 'Interesting'.

From where he was Naruto could clearly see most of the items which were on the clothing racks. Through observational skills expected of any fully functioning ninja Naruto instantly deduced that the pink, purple every other colour were strictly female in design. The only clothing which were made for men were a single row on the far side of the room.

Naruto happily stood up and walked over to the clothing rack.

'_Alright! Black clothing, my favourite.'_ Mused Naruto as he reached the clothing rack and scanned through the clothing, At first every article looked the same to him, until he discovered the small colour coded size list tagged to each of the hangers.

'_Confusing'_ thought Naruto as he failed to decipher the colour coded clothing.

"Naruto-kun? " a voice came from behind called out to him. Turning around Naruto wasn't surprised to see Ino in the dress she had shown him. He was however surprised about how she looked in it.

Ino stood elegantly just outside the changing room. The dress itself fit her perfectly, Unlike her previous clothes it didn't show nearly as much, Instead it seemed it was designed to 'tease' on lookers as the places that it did show were clouded in shadows from the flared edges of the dress.

"What do you think?" she asked curiously as she twirled around slowly displaying the back and sides of the dress. Once she finished spinning she waited for Naruto's opinion. Naruto was impressed by Ino's choice. Although he was by no definition a clothes fanatic the dress she had chosen suited her perfectly. Or maybe it was just because seeing Ino in anything but purple didn't seem right.

"It's nice, the colour really suits you. " Naruto offered as his opinion. In return he was graced with a small smile from Ino before she caught sight of the clothing he was inspecting.

"Want to try one on?" she asked.

To the question Naruto shook his head lightly and chuckled.

"No, I was just curious." He explained casually

"You should try that one." She said absentmindedly as she plucked a green tagged set off the rack and pressed it into Naruto's hands. A second later Naruto found himself being ushered towards the changing room and locked inside. All the while Naruto blinked confusedly.

Finding himself in the changing room Naruto shrugged to himself and stripped out of his clothing and inspected the articles of clothing Ino had chosen. At first glance Naruto was surprised to see that they from the looks of it were the correct size for him. Without wasting another second Naruto began to put on the two part pair.

After he finished dressing himself Naruto stared into his reflection infinitely surprised to see that they did fit perfectly. Stretching from side to side he tested out the flexibility of the clothing but was disappointed to find that they limited his movements somewhat. Ignoring that factor of the outfit Naruto took a small while to inspect the clothing properly.

The shirt itself was obsidian black all over a stark contrast against the vibrant colours of Ino's choice. Frowning Naruto's eyes came to the top of the shirt, surrounding his neck collar smothered the sides of his neck uncomfortably. Tugging against the collar in an effort to loosen it Naruto was annoyed to find that no matter how much he tried to loosen it or shape it the material would just stretch and then return to its former shape.

Naruto didn't bother looking down, he knew well enough how the pants looked. They were the same black and material as the shirt, and thus although Naruto admitted to himself it looked good it wasn't very practical.

Without warning the door of the changing room was flung open and Ino stood beside the door holding it open. Naruto gave Ino an annoyed look and glared her in the eye. To the glare Ino simply shrugged and critically inspected Naruto. At seeing Ino stare to intensely at him Naruto felt slightly uncomfortable and did the same thing as most people would have done in the same instance, he snapped.

"Close the door! "He demanded harshly as he made a lunge for the door handle to pull it closed. Sadly he missed because fate or most likely Ino had other plans.

"Hn, They look good on you. " Ino said happily.

"I'm glad I picked them out for you." She continued as she stepped into the small space of the dressing room and altered Naruto's shirt slightly to allow the collar a slight space between itself and Naruto's neck.

Naruto blinked in disbelief.

_How did she do that?_ He wondered in his mind before voicing his question out loud. To the question Ino smiled at him slyly and whispered.

"Trade secret."

To which Naruto once again blinked.

"Aren't you a florist?" Naruto asked confusedly before ducking Ino's hand as she aimed it for his head. Ignoring Naruto's dodge and question Ino stepped out of the changing room and closed the door behind her.

"Get changed back would you? " Ino's voice came through the door. Obliging her demands Naruto striped once again and relocated his clothing onto his body and shifted the stores clothing into a position similar to what they had been before, if not slightly crudely so. Naruto clutched the doors handle, pushing it open and stepping out of the small space.

Naruto frowned slightly as he looked around the room, Ino was no where to be seen.

_Where is she?_ Naruto asked himself as he looked around the room searching for Ino.

"Ino?" called out Naruto.

"Dammit, Wait I'm changing! "came an irritated voice from beside the changing room he had been in. Naruto mentally slapped himself. _ Obviously there would be more then one!_ He said in his mind. Walking over to the nearest table Naruto placed the clothing down beside him as he sat down and waited for Ino to come out.

After a small while Ino's changing room door opened and out stepped Ino slightly dishevelled with the dress folded in her arms.. Just as Naruto opened his mouth about to ask what happened. Ino snapped at him lightly.

"Don't ask!"

A moment later Ino softened slightly and motioned to the shop counter.

"Come on, pick those up and lets leave. "she murmured before walking towards the counter and placing the dress she had chosen on the top. Following her Ino walked over to the counter slowly and placed the two pieces of clothing on the counter. There was no one at the counter, or for that matter anywhere in the store Naruto noticed confusedly until he saw a small mirror coated bell sitting on top of the counter.

Just as Naruto lifted his hand up Ino's hand darted out to the bell and tapped it lightly on the top creating a surprisingly loud chiming sound. Turning to Ino slightly annoyed Naruto spoke.

"I was abo-." Only to be cut off by Ino.

"Ha, I win." She said happily ignoring Naruto's words.

Silently fuming Naruto waited sparing Ino a small glare sporadically.

A few seconds later a nondescript man dressed in black emerged from the opposite end of the shop and walked towards the Counter. Naruto blinked in surprise at the attire he was wearing. He had guessed that the owner and the employees would wear white.

"Will that be all?" asked the man as he stepped behind the counter and checked the price tags on the inside of the collars for both the products.

_No wonder it was itchy_ thought Naruto absentmindedly.

"How would you like to pay sir?" asked the cashier to Naruto.

Surprised Naruto glanced to Ino, only to find that she was nowhere in sight.

_That little bi…She planed this all along_ Naruto thought annoyed put maintained a normal disposition on the outside.

"Cash?" Naruto hazarded but was relieved to find the cashier nod casually. However the relief turned to frustration and shock at the mans next words.

"That will be ¥50,000 thank you."

_That's half my yearly allowance_ thought Naruto despairingly as he reached into his pocket and retrieved his wallet. The wallet itself had pictures of animal masks identical to the ones worn by the ANBU. _Anbu-Chan is getting thin…_ thought Naruto as he reached in and removed the money required.

_It can't get worse_ Naruto assured himself hoping to heaven and hell that his thoughts would be true. Looking back to the cashier Naruto saw that both purchases were in a paper bag on the counter. Thanking the employee Naruto grabbed the bag by it's handle and walked out of the shop.

"Took you long enough." Ino's voice came from his right. Turning to the direction Naruto scowled as his eyes landed on Ino's own. At seeing Naruto's facial expression she gave him a bemused look. "You didn't think you would get away with just watching me did you? This is a punishment, not a reward." She lectured waving her finger in front of her halfway through.

Naruto shrugged lightly and shoved the bag into Ino's hands. "Here." He mumbled as he let go and turned away from Ino intent on getting far away from her before she had any other ideas to deplete his savings.

A hand latched onto Naruto's arm and stopped him from escaping.

"No! Manicure time!" Ino demanded tugging Naruto towards the more expensive parts of Konoha. Sighing Naruto resigned himself to his fate and hoped that on Monday they would at least get well paying missions.

---

_**The next day**_

Silently Naruto made his way towards Training area 3. Inside his heart was racing, a lot had happened the past few days, and most of it Naruto wanted to confide in Hanabi about it. He had reasoned long ago that Hanabi was the least likely to tell anyone anything about himself, that and he wanted her opinion.

A small smile made its way onto Naruto's face as he saw the wooden sign stuck in the ground just at the edge of the all purpose Training ground clearing, which every training ground by law had to have. Walking past the sign Naruto's eyes scanned the area for the familiar length of black hair. He did not have to search long, Over the opposite side of the clearing sat Hanabi in the lotus meditation position. The once innocent smile on Naruto's lips contorted instantly into a devious smile promising humiliation.

'_The chances are that she already knows that I am here and is ready, But it will be funny if I can pull it off.'_ Mused Naruto as he slowly made his way towards Hanabi taking extra care not to make the slightest noise. Giddily Naruto slowed down even further as he came within a meter of Hanabi.

Crouching down in front of Hanabi Naruto inhaled slowly until his lungs for all purposes were full. Just as he was about to exhale onto Hanabi's face.-

"I wouldn't If I were you." Said Hanabi softly not moving anything except for her jaw. Naruto faltered in exhaling and Instantly felt the consequences a large gust of carbon dioxide tore out of his nose in a single burst causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards onto the ground.

Blinking Naruto laid down on the ground staring up into the sky.

_Not a cloud._ Thought Naruto absently as he stared up into the blue eternity which was dubbed the sky.

"Who comprises your team? "asked Hanabi softly maintaining her meditation position.

Chuckling softly Naruto sat up to face Hanabi.

"Originally? Haruno Sakura, Aburame Shino. I, don't really like the girl, Sakura. So I kind of got the Hokage to change the teams around." Naruto answered casually as he stared at Hanabi's face willing her eyes to open. Sadly they remained closed if not furrowed slightly.

"You got the Hokage to change your teams around." Said Hanabi slightly surprised. " What did it cost you?" she asked curiously.

Naruto blinked. _ Oh, I do owe the old man something, don't I. Maybe he'll forget about it, He is old after all._

A small laugh of nervousness erupted from Naruto's throat as he reached to the back of his head and dug his fingers into his scalp scratching his head.

"I owe him a favour, I'm sure it won't be anything much." Naruto said although he for the most part only said it to reassure himself.

"Continue." murmured Hanabi softly. Naruto nodded lightly before doing just that.

"After I got the Hokage to change the teams around my team consisted of Hinata-Chan and Uchiha Sasuke." Came the words from his mouth.

Surprisingly Hanabi's eyes snapped open and stared directly into Naruto's eyes. They remained locked onto his for a minute unnerving him. _ What did I say? Maybe she is on bad terms with Sasuke._ Naruto fidgeted slightly under the criticising gaze of Hanabi before finally it let up.

"Since when is she Hinata-Chan?" asked Hanabi calmly trying to maintain the decimal level in her voice. Naruto blinked in surprise.

_That's what disrupted her meditation? I should have called Hinata Hinata-Chan a long time ago If It works this well._ Mused Naruto as he stared questionably into Hanabi's eyes.

"She asked me to call her it not yesterday but the day before." answered Naruto slightly confused. Not noticing the look of relief and at the same time annoyance behind Hanabi's eyes.

'_Doesn't she realise Naruto could be punished for referring to her as such?_ Hanabi tried to rationalise her reaction in her mind.

"Hn." came the soft grunt from Hanabi.

Naruto blinked in shock. He had not been able to decipher the grunt.

_Dammit._

Naruto on the outside just smiled at Hanabi.

"So, what is the agenda for today?" asked Naruto curiously as he leaned backwards and laid back on the ground.

"I have decided that you are to meet my team-mates and …sensei"

"I get to meet the famous Holy eyebrow duo? And the infamous Tenten too! I'm honoured." Naruto said out loud to himself earning a small chuckle from Hanabi.

"What did you call me?" came a curiously angry voice from behind Naruto.

Tilting his head backwards Naruto was mildly shocked to see a pair of hardened brown eyes staring back down at him.

"Uh, famous?" queried Naruto hesitating slightly.

"So you're saying I'm not feared for my strength?" Tenten fumed as she lifted her foot up and positioned it over Naruto's head.

"I fear your foot right now." mumbled Naruto under his breath as he stared up at the foot hovering over his head. After a few moments a chuckle was heard from above him and the foot was lifted away to reveal a smiling Tenten.

"I like your attitude, who are you?" asked Tenten as she crouched down next to Naruto. Just as he was about to answer Hanabi's voice cut through.

"His name is Uzumaki _Hyuuga_ Naruto. He is a Branch house member."

Tenten stared shocked at Hanabi before transferring her gaze down to Naruto and locking onto his eyes. _'But he has blue eyes'_ thought Tenten as she stared down into Naruto's eyes. '_Nice blue eyes.'_ She added afterwards before turning her gaze back to Hanabi and staring at her confused.

"I was accepted into the Hyuuga Branch house for various reasons." mumbled Naruto.

'_This is awkward'_ Naruto thought as he stared up at Tenten just above him. Without wasting a moment Naruto rolled to his right and pushed off against the ground. Standing up Naruto looked down at Tenten neutrally sparing the side of her head a small smile before she turned to face him.

As Tenten faced Naruto he took a brief amount of time to study her face. The first thing he noticed about her was her uniquely styled hair, her hair was restricted to two balls upon the top sides of her head. Her hair itself was a shade lighter brown then her eyes.

Tenten's face like Hanabi's wasn't soft nor was it rough around the edges, She had the look of a girl who was prepared to face the world and wouldn't flinch if it rose to met her.

Tenten stood up from her crouching position and turned to face Naruto critically examining him. At the same time Naruto took the chance to take a look at what she was wearing. Her chest was covered by a soft pink shirt with the arms amputated and replaced with edge lining. The pants she wore were coloured a deep sea aqua and were slightly baggy around her legs, they came up to just above her ankles leaving just a small space of skin between them and her sandals.

Naruto didn't even have to check her right leg for the standard strap on kunai pouch. He knew by now that every ninja worth their headband would have a weapons pouch.

"Naruto-san." Said Tenten softly causing Naruto's eyes to instantly snap to hers. At the moment Naruto's eyes hit Tenten's he could tell something was wrong. '_ Girls who like to stab people don't have soft eyes.'_ He repeated over and over again in his mind as he continued to look directly into Tenten's softening eyes.

"Hn?" came the grunt like noise from Naruto as he stopped himself from talking.

"Do me a favour?" she asked innocently enough causing Naruto to lower his guard slightly. Glancing to Hanabi he noticed her eyes were on Tenten's face staring at her without an emotion on her face. A moment later a chuckle erupted from Hanabi's lips and she slid her eyes closed retreating to her meditation.

'_If it was something dangerous she would tell me…No she wouldn't.'_

Tilting his head to the side Naruto shot a questioning glance at Tenten prompting her to answer.

"I need some help with my target practice, would you be my target?" she said softly sliding her tongue out of her mouth and over her lips moistening them. '_ Target practice? No Freaking way!'_ thought Naruto alarmed as he shook his head from side to side violently.

"N-no sorry, I don't really have time to today." Naruto said underlining his voice with a tone of regret. Tenten frowned slightly as Naruto declined her offer before her frown twitched upwards slightly.

"Maybe next weekend?" she asked hopefully her eyes glinting with a maniac gleam. Naruto coughed into his hand slightly before shaking his head again.

"Nah, I can't I was suppose to do things this weekend but my time was already taken up." Naruto countered. Unexpectedly his counter perked Hanabi's interest.

"Why, what did you do yesterday?" she asked softly once again returning from her brief meditation and tilting her head towards Naruto.

"Yesterday…" Naruto involuntarily shuddered "I had to repay Ino for messing up her team choice. She got stuck with Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji."

"How did you get your teams changed?" asked Tenten curiously.

'_I didn't know that it was possible without the Hokages approval.'_ Tenten thought to herself wondering how Naruto had managed to change the teams.

"I kind of dragged the Sandaime into the room…and the rest is history." Naruto lamented laughing slightly as he reached behind his head and scratched the back of it in his signature action. Before him Tenten's mouth had dropped slightly as she stared at him in disbelief.

'_No way he could have gotten the Hokage to change teams let alone drag him in.'_

"Yesterday I had to take Ino shopping and to get a manicure…Anbu-Chan is so small" sighed Naruto as he finished looking sadly to his pocket.

"Err, Anbu-Chan?" asked Tenten confusedly her brow furrowing as she tried to think of what Naruto could be referring to.

"My wallet." mumbled Naruto under his breath.

Tenten sniggered lightly causing Naruto to snap his head towards her and issue a soft glare.

"It's not funny! Anbu-Chan is going to become all thread and material soon." Said Naruto sadly at the thought of his wallet shrinking even further then it had the previous day. Hanabi at the declaration mimicked Tenten and sniggered softly.

Instantly Naruto turned to face Hanabi shock written upon his face. Seeing Naruto turn to her Hanabi looked to Naruto and shrugged lightly.

"It was funn-" she began but was soon cut off as a loud crack from the forest behind Hanabi filled the. Just as the crack had resounded it finished leaving a painful silence between Naruto and the two girls. Slowly a rustling sound filled the air and the bushes a silhouette emerged into the sunlight

"Trees hurt!" said the figure as he rubbed his head wincing.

"Lee you idiot." Said Tenten softly sparing Lee an annoyed look.

'_This is their other team-mate?'_ wondered Naruto as he looked at Lee.

The first thing Naruto noticed were his pants, like Tenten's they were baggy but instead of the dark aqua they were brown. Changing his view to Lee's chest Naruto was even more surprised to see that Lee had a slightly similar shirt to Tenten's except instead of having no sleeves his arms were covered and the red lining which would have been on the shoulders was on the front lining the two sides connected to each other.

Sliding his eyes up further Naruto's eyes reached Lee's and he had to stifle a short scream as his eyes landed on Lee's eyebrows.

' _Unholy eyebrow…s… '_ thought Naruto afraid as he stared at the two large bushes of hair above the other boys eyes.

"Who are you?" Lee asked as he stared back at Naruto confusedly.

Naruto blinked a single time before opening his mouth to answer.

"His name is Uzumaki _Hyuuga _Naruto." Answered Tenten for Naruto causing Naruto to snap his head towards her and issue a deadly blue eyes black pupil glare. Tenten simply stared back at Naruto her eyebrows raised slightly challenging him to say anything. Grudgingly Naruto turned back to Lee just in time to catch his own introduction.

Lee blinked in slight disbelief. _' He doesn't have white eyes… Must be a cousin.'_

"My name is Rock Lee! I'm going to be a Taijutsu Master!" Lee exclaimed lifting his right hand up and giving Naruto a single handed thumb up. Across from him Naruto simply blinked before reaching to the back of his head and for the third time that day scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"Nice to meet you." Naruto said politely.

' _He looks strong'_ thought Lee as he looked over Naruto curiously.

"Naruto-san, Fight me!" exclaimed Lee as he charges forwards at Naruto and cocked his fist beside his head preparing to strike at Naruto's head. _'Why is he so slow?' _wondered Naruto at the sluggish movements Lee was making.

Just as Lee was about to attack Naruto lifted his right hand upwards facing its palm towards Lee's charging form. Just as Naruto was about to execute an offensive move to incapacitate Lee a green blur tore through his vision slamming into Lee's head and sending him flying away.

Naruto at the sudden movement jumped backwards and slid into the offensive stance of the Hidoi Hira preparing to attack if necessary. A few seconds passed and Naruto remained in the same position as his eyes locked onto the person who had attacked Lee. His mouth fell open slightly as his eyes registered an older looking Lee who was wearing a skin tight green spandex suit with canary yellow _leg warmers_ it seemed. The only reason Naruto even took the person seriously was he wore the familiar green Jounin vest meaning he was at least as strong as he looked weird.

"Lee! Attacking a friend without warning is dishonouring yourself! Always wait for confirmation before testing out your YOUTHFUL STRENGTH!" reprimanded the Older man. Before turning to Naruto.

"Hello Naruto! Kakashi has already told me about you and your EXCEPTIONAL! Performance on Friday! My name is MAITO GAI! THE BEAUTIFUL GREEN BEAST OF KONOHA!" exclaimed Gai loudly as he shifted his hand towards Naruto giving him like Lee had done before a thumb up.

Naruto stared in disbelief unless his eyes were deceiving him behind the Jounin a translucent sunset was shining towards and over Gai. '_Genjutsu?'_ wondered Naruto idly before pulsing a small amount of Chakra through his brain having it seek out any foreign influence. Finding none Naruto shot a questioning glance to Hanabi only to receive a smirk in return.

'_The hell…?' _Naruto asked himself as he watched Gai lower his hand and the translucent scene behind him disperse as if it was never there. Looking to Hanabi again for sanity Naruto was surprised to find her standing up with her Byakugan activated marring the circumference of her eye line.

"It's time to begin Naruto-kun." Stated Hanabi a moment before she slid into the Gentle fist's opening stance. Just as Naruto opened his mouth to protest Hanabi cut across him.

"You thought I invited you just to talk to my team-mates?"

Naruto nodded lightly.

"You said that just before Tente-"Naruto began only to stop as Hanabi once again interrupted.

"Irrelevant." She said coldly as she just like Naruto expected kicked off from her place and charged directly at Naruto within a moment she was upon him surging her hand towards Naruto's chest.

"Hanabi I just told…" Gai's protest was lost to the wind as Naruto's palm glanced off Hanabi's wrist knocking it off its path and into his left shoulder. Without missing a moment Naruto slid his hand along Hanabi's arm up to her own shoulder releasing a current of Chakra through her arm.

A moment later both fighters kicked off from each other. Naruto looked at Hanabi expecting a reaction and he was not disappointed. Hanabi stared at Naruto happily as she tried to lift her arm only to find it shaking in the attempt.

"**Furui Banrai? **So you want to be rough?" she asked calmly before she shook her arm herself and snapped it outwards releasing small bursts of Chakra along her arm neutralising Naruto's **Furui Banrai**.

A small smile blossomed on Naruto's lips as he saw Hanabi manoeuvre her arm from the outwards swing back into her stance. Naruto dug the ball of his foot into the ground and launched himself at Hanabi thrusting his palm towards her abdomen only to be blocked a moment later by Hanabi's own hand parrying the strike. A moment later Hanabi's hand relinquished Naruto's and flew towards his right hip glancing it slightly before her hand was knocked away by Naruto's elbow.

Around them Lee, Tenten and Gai stared at the duelling pair with a mixture of different emotions.

Lee was watching them both wide eyed in awe.

' _Amazing! Hanabi is a Genius, does this make him a genius to? He's landing just as many blows to her as she is to him, But, he hasn't got the Byakugan activated, does that mean… HE'S A SUPERGENIUS?_ At the end of his thought train Lee's eyes widened even further and he punched his hand up into the air.

' _If I can beat Naruto then I can beat Hanabi, I can prove myself without hurting her! NARUTO YOU ARE MY RIVAL FROM NOW ON_!_'_

"Gai-sensei…" Lee said softly.

Without taking his eyes off the fight Gai nodded.

"Soon we will begin your weight training Lee, soon you will show your EXPLOSIVE YOUTH!" exclaimed Gai slightly lower then normal. "This is quite unexpected." He said surprisingly softly to himself.

' _Kakashi has only had him for a maximum of one day and he had already taught Naruto this much! You win this round My Eternal rival! You succeed now! But soon, very soon I will be in the lead again.'_ Gai thought valiantly to himself.

Naruto leaned backwards as Hanabi threw her open palm to his chin barely missing the would be direct hit. As quick as he could Naruto reached to Hanabi's wrist grasping it and holding it tightly as he took his other hand and sent it straight to her neck.

Once again Naruto's attack was halted by Hanabi's movements Hanabi's hand was between Naruto's and her throat. Naruto without realising his attack had been blocked tried to retract his hand, only to find that Hanabi's fingers were intertwined with his holding him in place just as he was doing to her.

On the other side of the fighting Duo Tenten was watching in unrestrained fascination and awe. She had long since deduced that the Gentle fist that the Hyuuga used was dependant on the activation of the Byakugan; it seemed without it they were unable to execute their attacks properly.

'_He is fighting her on even terms and he doesn't even have a Byakugan. Is he really that strong? No strength doesn't have anything to do with it, has he trained that much?'_ Tenten smiled unconsciously as she watched Hanabi break off from Naruto's grip and slid her foot between Naruto's legs pushing him backwards as she brought her foot back towards her causing Naruto to fall over backwards. _'Maybe not evening but still.'_

She smiled to herself as she watched Naruto pout and look up into Hanabi's eyes.

'_He'd be a great person to train with'_ thought Tenten as she imagined herself slicing through Naruto's clothing leaving him bloody and wounded. Unconsciously she licked her lips and stared at Naruto not feeling the slight flush of blood to her cheeks. After a few moments she realised that they had stopped when Naruto had fallen to the ground. Glancing to Hanabi who was standing over Naruto Tenten was surprised to find Hanabi staring directly at her.

"Bravo! A Magnificent display of Your YOUTHFUL POWER! Hanabi!" exclaimed Gai loudly followed by a rush of compliments on the fight from Lee. Hanabi turned to Gai and Lee offering them a small smile of gratitude before glancing to Tenten once again untrustingly.

Slowly Naruto rose from the ground slightly off balance before trying to take a step and falling forwards. At the moment everyone looked to Naruto and reached out only to find Naruto was already being supported, In front of Naruto Tenten stood holding him around the chest stoping him from falling to the ground.

"You okay there Naruto?" grunted Tenten under the weight of Naruto dragging her down. In her arms Naruto nodded embarrassedly before finding his footing and straightening up. Quietly he mumbled an apology before reaching to the back of his head and scratching near the base line of his neck for the fourth time in the day.

"If you want to thank me, Train with me when you can?" asked Tenten hopefully staring into Naruto's eyes pleadingly. '_She is a weapons specialist isn't she? That could mean a lot of pain.'_ Thought Naruto, but try as he might couldn't tear his eyes away from hers and was about to give in.

"He can't Tenten." Hanabi said calmly.

Both Naruto and Tenten turned to Hanabi giving her a different look each Thankful the former and annoyed the latter.

"Why can't he?" asked Tenten curiously as she inched closer to Naruto.

Hanabi simply smirked to Tenten superiorly before answering.

"Unlike you he has no family and lives on his own. He needs to go on missions for a source of income otherwise he will be removed from his residence." Hanabi explained away masterfully relishing the small twitch from Tenten's right eye.

"Naruto, You're an orphan!" asked Lee shocked.

'_He's just like me…'_ thought Lee as he watched Naruto nod slightly before looking away from the three.

"I, think I need to go home and rest." Naruto said carefully before looking back up to the various team-members and teacher. Looking to Gai Naruto was surprised to find him nodding to Naruto's declaration.

"I agree Naruto, Both you and Hanabi seem to have sustained a number of wounds. If we are all to accomplish our missions tomorrow we need to be full of our EXPLOSIVE YOUTH POWER!" he exclaimed loudly clenching his fist and raising it upwards in front of him.

"But Gai-sensei!" whined Lee sadly.

"Do not fear My student! While Hanabi rests we shall begin your extensive training to improve your YOUTH POWER!" reassured Gai before slapping Lee on the back and charging off back into the trees which Lee had came into the clearing from in the beginning.

"Wait for me!" yelled Lee as he began to run after Gai his movements still seemingly sluggish.

Both Tenten and Hanabi chuckled together while Naruto just stared after them in disbelief before shaking himself out of his shock and glancing to the two girls left with him offering them both a small smile.

"That was fun while it lasted." Naruto said amusedly. "I'm going to go home now, you wana come along?" he finished looking to both Hanabi and Tenten for confirmation.

Just as Tenten was about to answer Hanabi cut in front of her earning herself a small glare.

"No Naruto-kun you go ahead, I need to talk to Tenten about something before we both leave." She explained throwing Tenten a warning glance. Before looking back at Naruto.

"And No, you don't have to wait for us. We need to discuss private matters." Hanabi continued just as Naruto was about to open his mouth again. A moment later Naruto chuckled before looking to Tenten and nodding.

"It was nice to meet you Tenten." Naruto said to her offering another small smile.

"Likewise." She said simply glancing back to Hanabi after a moment.

Without further waiting Naruto turned from both the girls and made his way towards his house.

After Naruto had disappeared from clear view Tenten turned to Hanabi and snapped at her.

"What's the big idea?"

Hanabi stared emotionlessly at Tenten remaining silent for a few moments before finally speaking.

"What…are your intentions towards Naruto?"

---

**There we go, that's 800ish longer then last chapter. It seems once a week is the new update rate until my actual year ten exams are over. Remember, review responses are on the website **

**http/ free . hostultra . com / surarrin /**

**While you're reviewing remember, _She sells seashells by the sea shore._**


	15. First Missions

** Hurrah for uploading malfunctions. As one reviewer put it; 'WTF' I've crossed the threshold of 200 reviews, and I must admit I don't feel any different.**

** I finally have found out why Sasuke is so adamant on killing his brother**

Ninja had many rules and the most important rule is of keeping the secret of ninja themselves and of the daimyo who gave them the order. The severest crime is leaving a ninja family without authorization and never coming back. He or she would be called _ nukenin_ (抜け忍) and his or her family members would be tasked to bring him back, dead or alive.

** That's an unchanged passage from a certain site. Explains a bit eh?**

** On another note, I don't like this chapter so far it seems flat to me.**

** One for your pain and one for your mind**

** I'm reliant, I'm not addicted it's fine**

** One to lose weight , make you look right**

** One day there'll be one for these lies.**

** Adema – Better Living through Chemistry**

* * *

**_ Outside the Hokage tower_**

****

Giggling softly to himself, Kakashi's eyes scanned the illustrations hidden throughout the various portions of writing in the little orange book.

_ 'Genius is his name, and Come Come Paradise his creation.'_ Thought Kakashi giddily as he watched yet another seemingly innocent (If you didn't include the words) paragraph slowly bend through the power of optical illusions into a rather vivid ASCII scene of Three female ninjas and a male Samurai.

'_I wish I were a Samurai'_ mused Kakashi as he turned over to read the next page.

Engrossed in the various depictions of sexual interactions Kakashi almost missed the three people standing next to each other in front of the Hokages tower.

"Kakashi! My eternal rival!" the loud boisterous voice of Gai came from between Kurenai and Asuma.

Hearing the voices Kakashi glanced upwards, his visible eye blinking twice in a quick succession as testament to his surprise.

"Uh, you guys haven't got your mission for tomorrow either yet?" Kakashi asked sceptically as he eyed the three Jounin, his gaze finishing on Kurenai before switching back to Gai.

"I could only wish that I were as fashionably late as you!" Gai said longingly as he thumped his fist against his chest. "Instead, I am here to enquire as how you have taught Naruto so much in such a short time! And if you are over working him!" he thundered passionately staring hard into Kakashi's eyes.

Beside him Both Kurenai and Asuma were giving Kakashi curious looks as they awaited his answer. Surprised at the reason they were waiting for him at the tower Kakashi answered the best he could.

"I didn't." he said simply before looking back down into his copy of Come Come Paradise: Samurai VS Ninja special edition and walking around them. Just as he was about to pass Kurenai a slender hand made it's way out to his shoulder and squeezed it softly, prompting him to look up and meet Kurenai's red gaze.

"If you didn't then who did? How else would Naruto have been able to stand use the Gentle fist against Hyuuga Hanabi as Gai has told us, without any formal training?" she questioned curiously slowly increasing the pressure on Kakashi's shoulder until he twitched slightly.

"Uh, He spent the last two years with the Hyuuga?" answered Kakashi helpfully before reaching up to his shoulder and brushing Kurenai's hand off him with more then a little difficulty. Without further obstruction into his way or reading, Kakashi continued into the Hokages tower ignoring Gai's loud shouts of "SO COOL!"

Although calm and collected for someone reading a pornographic book in public inside Kakashi's mind was racing.

'_It is impossible for Naruto to execute any of the Hyuuga's trademark Gentle fist attacks. Although it would be possible if they implanted another members eyes into him. But that isn't possible, his eyes are still blue' _thought Kakashi his mind losing all forms of inconsistencies.

'_Maybe he should have been the Taijutsu target instead of the Uchiha.' _ Kakashi thought absently as his mind reverted to its preferred lax but alert mode. Passing the entrance to the Hokage tower Kakashi wasn't surprised to find literally no one in the lobby, after all a ninja was supposed to be early.

Chuckling to himself softly, Kakashi made his way up the stairs to the Sandaimes office happy with himself for missing the 'rush hour', as he called it.

Once he reached the top of the stair case a quick glance to the door of the Hokages office told him that the Hokage was available. Casually Kakashi walked to the door and gripped a small piece of paper hung on a nail embedded in the door and turned it over.

'_The Hokage is busy.' _Kakashi read off the back of the sign before turning and walking into the Sandaimes office.

"Good afternoon Hokage-sama." Kakashi said respectfully to the Sandaime bowing forwards to the white and red clad man sitting behind the desk in the middle of the room.

****

"To what do I owe this late pleasure?" asked the Sandaime curiously as he looked up from the neatly stacked pile of papers in front of him.

"I am here to…request a certain mission system for team seven."

The Sandaime at the statement stared Kakashi directly in the eye remaining silent for a few moments before opening his mouth.

"I know this will be your first actual mission with a Genin team but I can't give you a C or B rank mission not until we are sure they will be able to survive." the decline came from the Sandaime.

"If I may?" asked Kakashi respectfully remaining silent until a slight nod of the Sandaimes head gave the confirmation to continue.

"Tomorrow would it be possible to assign each of the members of my team a separate D mission and allow them to complete them on their own?"

'_An Interesting proposal.'_ Thought the Sandaime as he slid his eyes closed.

"Before I allow anything, tell me your opinion on each of your charges as a teacher." Asked the Sandaime as he sat up straight and patiently looked to Kakashi.

"Hinata as expected of a Hyuuga is beyond the Genin rank in the area of Taijutsu. She correctly demonstrated the Kawarimi by avoiding a fire element technique deployed by myself. She is worthy of being a Genin and when teamed up with Naruto they both left me with no time to read. At once during a skirmish of Taijutsu she came close to collecting a bell." Kakashi said seriously as he looked up at the ceiling before glancing back to the Sandaime, at a small incline of the Hokages head Kakashi continued.

"Uchiha Sasuke and I only were directly in combat for a small amount of time. He demonstrated a highly effective method of using A series of Taijutsu moves to distract me from his objective and was the first to come close to the bells. However he was disrupted easily with a simple ankle snare trap. Although they were not aware I knew Sasuke asked Naruto to team up with him to retrieve the bells."

At that point Kakashi turned his gaze down from the ceiling and look back into the Sandaimes eye.

"But he didn't include Hinata, and because of that Naruto declined his invitation and opted to team up with Hinata."

A small chuckle came from Kakashi's hidden mouth before he continued on.

"Naruto… showed some unexpected skills during the test. I placed a Genjutsu on him and he realised what it was early on. However at the time he did not know the correct way to dispel it. I at that point instructed him on the correct way to release the illusion, but was surprised to find out that he was unable to use Hand seals to execute techniques such as Genjutsu and Ninjustu."

At that point Kakashi sent the Sandaime a questioning glance before he continued.

"After I instructed Naruto on the correct method for removing a Genjutsu I expected him to fail in unveiling the technique. I was surprised to find that he dispelled it on his first try and consequently was unprepared for a technique he used on me, **Ningenteki Kuuden Hoorudo** I believe he called it. After the use of the technique Naruto was easily able to obtain a bell and detain me long enough for him to escape."

"So Naruto has mastered his chak-"

"I have **not** finished yet sir." Kakashi said interrupting the Sandaime putting emphasis on the not.

"After this as I mentioned before the Genin met up and Naruto and Hinata co-operated. What made this confusing was that Naruto was using the Gentle fist in such a way as I have never seen; instead of trying to close off tenketsus Naruto was periodically deducing the feeling in my limbs. I was hoping you would be able to shed some light on this occurrence as it was in my understanding that Naruto had only been sent to the Hyuuga to master Chakra control."

Through the third part of Kakashi's explanation the Sandaime remained stoic and calmly stared back into Kakashi's eyes.

"This was unforeseeable but it has no adverse effects. The style you saw Naruto use was not 'Gentle Fist' instead it is…the original style the Pre-Hyuuga clan members used. They called it the Hidoi Hira, or Severe Palm. Sadly I have no data going into detail on the structure of the style."

Reaching up to his chin the Sandaime gentle stroked the side of it with the tips of his fingers.

"Kakashi, I'll grant your request under one condition."

At this Kakashi perked up slightly before internally deflating.

'_I wonder what he wants in return._' Thought Kakashi as he nodded to his superior.

"Tomorrow morning be here with your three charges on time and I shall give them each a different mission to complete. If they all finish the missions given to them by themselves by the end of the day I will give you three a more difficult mission. I think you will enjoy it."

Kakashi smiled under his mask unnoticeably

'_I thought he was going to ask me to do something.'_

"In return you will study the Hidoi Hira and give me information on it…I am curious about the style." The Sandaime said casually as he brought both of his hands up to his face and folded them between each other resting his thumbs under his chin.** (Think Gendo from Evangelion)**

The smile under Kakashi's mask instantly inverted turning itself into a frown.

'_He wants me to tell him the weaknesses and strength of the style? That's why he is willing to give us a more difficult mission, to give me a chance to evaluate Naruto's style. I should feel outrage at the thought of a Hokage wanting to exploit my student. But I do it all the time don't I?'_

Kakashi nodded to the Sandaime before turning his back on the older man and walking out the door.

_ 'Soon Naruto, soon we will find out if you are ready.'_ Thought the Sandaime as he leaned back into his chair, a small sigh escaped his lips as his eyes slid down to his desk and the neat mound of paper stacked directly in front of him.

_ 'I hate paper work.'_

* * *

** Next Day**

**_ Naruto's Mission: Canine Catastrophe!_**

****

'_Konoha Animal Clinic 'Naruto_ read off a high stuck in front of a large building.

Glancing up to the doorway Naruto wasn't surprised to find an 'open sign' hanging up in the middle of the door. However he was surprised to find a young woman standing in the door way.

"Are you the runt they sent to help?" tiredly asked the woman as she reached up to her mouth and covered it just in time to release a yawn.

"Yes ma'am." Replied Naruto respectfully as he took a split second to look over the woman.

The first thing Naruto had noticed was the slightly lopsided Jounin vest she wore which covered only a small body net for her upper half and slightly loose matching pants for her lower half. _'I didn't know you could get those kind of pants…I want some.'_ Thought Naruto as he locked his eyes onto the woman's face, holding in his surprised Naruto trailed his eyes over the two red triangles on her cheeks.

"Excuse me, but may I ask you a question?" Naruto said politely holding back the temptation to release the infamous **Kiraboshi-Ai**.

A small frown lit up on the woman's face before it slowly changed into knowing smile.

"You were in Kiba's class right? I'm his older sister, Hana." A small chuckle came from Hana's mouth as she motioned for Naruto to follow her, before she turned to the door and walked through it. Obediently Naruto followed after her into the building before internally flinching at a sudden rush of smell to his nose. Looking around the room Naruto scowled as his eyes landed on a group of mud covered dogs.

"Normally I wouldn't have gotten anyone to help and would have washed them myself, but my mother insisted that I got someone to help. And here you are." Hana said as she turned around gracing Naruto with a roguish smile. Naruto returned the smile slightly before remembering his mission.

"I am at your command Hana-sempai." Naruto said without thinking, flinching as he finished.

"Sempai?" Hana said slyly as she turned around to face Naruto.

"You don't have to call me that, yet." she teased winking at Naruto.

Naruto's cheeks flushed before he corrected himself.

"Hana-san." The mumble came before he returned to as close to professional as he could get.

"How can I help?"

Pouting at the lack of reaction Hana nodded to Naruto before waving her hand at the three canines lounging around to the side.

"Your mission, if you choose to accept it." She added to the end "Is to assist me in cleaning my cute companions!"

At the mention of cleaning the three dogs literally jumped to their feet and made their escape through the back of the clinic.

"Get back here!" yelled Hana as she shook her fist in the air at the retreating dogs before she turned angrily to Naruto. "What are you waiting for? Fetch!" she demanded pointing after the dogs.

As the impending doom began to emanate from Hana Naruto nodded before hastily making his way after the three dogs. _'I didn't get a chance to decline, although I think she was joking'_ Naruto thought morosely as he strained his ears for the pounding of the dog's feet against the hard surface of the floor. Instead of hearing the escape of the dogs Naruto was infinitely surprised to find a whimpering noise coming from inside one of the patient rooms.

Slowly Naruto stuck his head in the room and searched the room over for the source of the noise. For all he could see the only objects in the room were a cupboard, a desk and a bed. A small devious smile found it's way onto Naruto's face as his eyes landed on a small patch of fur showing from under the bed.

"Bingo." Naruto whispered as he slowly passed his hand into the room and faced the palm of it towards the bed. Just as the first wave of Chakra left his hand a flash of fur was all the warning he got before the dog had moved. But it had been all the warning he needed. In an instance the technique had been initiated. Whatever satisfaction Naruto may have had at being able to stop the dog vanished.

Not even a meter in front of him the dog was bound at the Chakra in mid air its teeth bared and claws stretched out. Gulping slightly Naruto shakily made his way backwards careful not to break the hold he had on the dog's body. A minute later Naruto sighed as he watched Hana wrestle the angry canine into a steel cage.

"That's one down, now get to it!" Hana once again demanded. At seeing Naruto's shaken disposition Hana paused for a moment and then added. "I promise the other two won't be as violent, as a plus I'll give you a special something for each them."

At the sly smirk Hana gave him Naruto for the second time that day flushed before nodding dumbly and walking back towards the direction were the dogs had ran off to.

_ 'Girl's are weird.' _Thought Naruto as he scanned the area in front of him for any sign of the two remaining dogs.

Suddenly Naruto froze as a soft padding sound filled the air. Slowly the sound got louder until-

A soft nuzzle against Naruto's leg prompted him to look down and smile in relief as he saw the head of one of the dogs.

"I guess she was right." Naruto said to himself as he reached down and scratched behind the canine's right ear. A few moments later Naruto made his way back to the lobby where Hana was waiting. An annoyed look showed itself on Hana's look as she saw Naruto arrive back so soon. But it soon vanished as the second dog trotted up behind him and sat down where it had been before.

"Good work!" Hana said enthusiastically before a small smile made its way onto her face.

"I owe you a special treat don't I?"

Hana made her way over to Naruto before stopping directly in front of him and reaching to the side of his head. The moment her hand touched his head Naruto froze as he wondered what if anything Hana was going to do. Her finger tips slowly trailed their way down through the locks of Naruto's hair until it reached the side of his head. A second later an un-agreeable sensation developed behind the ear on the same side as Hana was touching.

"What are yo-"Naruto started but was cut off as a biscuit was shoved into his mouth almost causing him to choke.

"Who's a good boy!" said Hana happily as she continued to scratch Naruto behind his ear causing him to hunch forwards to try and get away from her fingers. But alas her fingers continued to torture the behind of his ear until he reached up and grasped her wrist.

"Stop!" Naruto said pleadingly as he stepped away from Hana and glared icily at her hand.

Hana stared at Naruto in confusion

"Don't you like that?" she asked curiously as she dropped her hand beside her side.

"I'm not an animal!" Naruto exclaimed loudly.

"Yes you are!" Hana exclaimed just as loudly as she threw her hands up into the air.

"Am Not!" Naruto all but yelled to Hana before realising what he was doing and mumbling an apology.

'_Note to self: Don't yell at Jounin.'_

A frown developed on Hana's face.

"If you're not an animal…Then what are these?" she asked as she reached up to his cheeks and caressed the three horizontal slashes dug into his cheeks. Naruto shrugged lightly before he stepped backwards putting a small bit of distance between himself and Hana.

"I'll find the last one now." Naruto said under his breath before bowing to Hana and beginning to walk away from her.

'_I don't look like an animal Dammit!'_ thought Naruto as he wandered down the corridor leading to the back of the clinic, searching for the final dog.

* * *

****

**_ Hinata's Mission: Feline Fun!_**

****

With veins protruding from the surrounding area of her eyes Hinata walked into one of the various forest like area's scattered around Konoha.

'_White fur, red ribbon, east of Konoha should be easy.' _she thought as she allowed her gaze to pierce through the articles of foliage in front of her. Within moments a flash of white caught Hinata's eye and allowed her to zoom in on a medium sized cat.

"Bingo." she whispered and a moment later she was off bounding through the tree tops towards the object of her mission.

'_I thought it would be slightly harder then this, If I were not of Hyuuga blood it may have been. Luckily I have the Byakugan!'_ she thought gleefully as she deactivated the Byakugan, and continued on her way towards the location of the feline.

As Hinata kicked off from the final branch she needed she descended directly down into the area where she had caught sight of the animal.

"Here Kitty." She murmured as she glanced around the immediate area searching for the tell tale signs of the cat. Within a few seconds a profound frown grew on her lips.

"I could have sworn that you were here." She said softly as she slid her eyes closed and reactivated her families bloodline technique, with the telltale signs of the Byakugan activated Hinata reopened her eyes. A moment later the albino animal was once again in sight, ten meters away.

Chuckling slightly she murmured. "Silly me." To herself before she began walking towards it once again, ignoring the temptation to deactivate the Byakugan and keeping her eyes focused on her target. Moments later she was once again standing in the area where she had seen the feline, directly in front of her lounging around on the ground laid her goal; The cat ' Miss Missy ' as the mission paper identified it as.

"Here Kitty." Hinata cooed as she bent down and stretched her arms out towards the feline, which in response lazily opened it's left eye and glanced to Hinata before slowly closing it once again and rolling over on the ground to face away from her.

Twitching in annoyance Hinata stood up and moved closer, she softy nudged it with her foot trying to get it's attention.

"Miss Missy?" she asked softly, before leaning down to the cat and sliding her hands around it's waist. As Hinata tried to lift the feline up it began to struggle with all its might and ended up scratching her cheek lightly.

"Bad Kitty!" Hinata growled out as she dropped the cat to the ground and stepped backwards avoiding a claw to her ankles.

"Be a good kitty and come with me!" Hinata asked through her clenched teeth as she glared down at the 'innocent' cat. A moment later the cat turned from Hinata and was about to make its escape once again. Unluckily for the Cat it was not a ninja and Hinata was, in the same moment Hinata's hands had found their way around the felines neck, and were holding it in the air.

'_Now let's see you scratch me.'_ Hinata thought darkly as she marvelled at the feeling of holding the cat's life between her hands.

As the cat helplessly dangled between Hinata's fingers from its neck it hissed in anger, its further attempts to slash Hinata's body were cut off as Hinata dug her finger tips into the cat's windpipe and slowly squeezed it until the cats' struggling stopped. Slowly Hinata's eyes widened as she stared at the lifeless body of the cat in her hands.

_ 'What have I done?'_ she questioned herself morosely as her fingers slid from around the cat's neck and the limp body dropped to the ground.

_ 'I killed the mission object…I…I don't want to fail my first mission!'_ thought Hinata horrified before she remembered

Slowly the guilt over her actions and the feeling of failure built up until a burst of moisture from her eyes signalled the arrival of tears. It was then that a small stir of movements at her feet caused Hinata to look down, and gasp in surprise as Miss Missy rose to her feet…and ran away.

"GET BACK HERE YOU FUR BALL!" screamed Hinata as she chased after the small animal intent on returning it to it's owner, in as many pieces as the cat would want. With that the eternal **(until three minutes later)** chase began with Hinata hot on the heels of Missy Miss, The Albino cat.

* * *

****

**_ Sasuke's Mission: Retirement Rodeo Round Up!_**

****

Sasuke maintained a stoic mask as he pushed open the doors to the Retirement home of Konoha. Within moments he was struck head on by the smell of decaying flesh and sterile surfaces. With abominable ease a scowl broke through Sasukes cleverly crafted mask for the entire world to see.

Looking around the room Sasuke wasn't surprised to find few pieces of furniture; with a single sweep of the room he caught sight of three chairs surrounding a table off to the side of the room and a counter opposite the door from which another door was based behind it.

'_ I hate sterile'_ thought Sasuke bitterly as he glanced around the lobby area of the building searching for a staff member to address and confirm his mission, he had not waited long before a middle aged man walked into the lobby through a door behind the counter.

"Uchiha Sasuke? They sent you?" asked the staff member surprised.

As a reply Sasuke simply nodded towards the person.

"How may I be of assistance?" Sasuke asked formally returning to his stoic disposition.

"We need you to…tend to the residence for a few hours while we clean up their rooms." The staff member said nervously as he eyed a door to the side of the room.

"I understand." Sasuke said simply before turning to the door that the man looked at and making his way towards it.

"Wait, I think you should know something-"the staff member started.

"Whatever you want to tell me is irrelevant as long as I complete the mission requirements stated I am clear, I will not preform any optional deeds." Sasuke cut him off coldly before grasping the handle on the door and slowly pushing it open.

"But." The man tried again.

"Irrelevant!" Sasuke snapped over his shoulder as he closed the door behind him, smugly Sasuke smirked to himself as he heard the door click closed behind him.

'_Like hell I will do anything but what the mission requires'_ Sasuke thought sourly to himself as he glanced around the room. A few glances around had Sasuke find another male staff member sitting with their back towards him on a wooden bench, after walking towards them Sasuke stopped to their right.

"How may I be of assistance?" asked Sasuke nonchalantly as he bored a twin set of holes into the back of the man's head with his eyes.

Slowly the man turned around to face Sasuke, the first thing Sasuke noticed of the man was his sullen and sickly yellow skin splattered with various healed over slash marks on the right side of his face. Slowly an 'evil' smirk etched it's way onto the mans face before he slowly morphed it into a toothy smile. Internally Sasuke felt he was about to throw up as the stench of the man's breath pierced through his discoloured teeth.

"Ah, The Genin the staff-I mean, we ordered. Your first chore is to clean the older members of our fine establishment's rooms." Said the sickly man as he lifted his arm up from his side and waved it towards another door to the right, the door itself was 'guarded' by a different set of elderly people on each side, chatting amongst themselves, oblivious to Sasuke being in the room.

After issuing a short nod to the yellow tinted man Sasuke made his way to the door pointed out to him.

"Stop thief!" came a qua-echo voice from in front of Sasuke prompting him to look to the sides of the door and receive four elderly glares. After taking a small amount of time to throw withering glances towards each of the four who had spoken, Sasuke continued through them.

An extremely itty bitty amount of time later Sasukes hand gripped the door handle and turned it clockwise, only to find that the handle in his hand was the type which did not turn that way. Holding back a glare Sasuke calmly turned the handle anti-clockwise, only to encounter the same problem. A second later realisation dawned on Sasuke, causing him to suddenly become rather volatile.

'_IT WAS LOCKED! WHAT KIND OF RETARD AM I?'_ Sasuke thought enraged as he mentally stopped himself from issuing the fiery demise of the door instead, with a flick of his wrist Sasuke switched over the small tab on the top of the handles base over to 'open' and twisted the handle again, '_Bingo.'_ he thought happily as he swung open the door in his path and passed through.

If he had listened Sasuke would have heard the diabolical cackle released from a senile old man sitting exactly where the male staff member had been sitting only moments before, Sasuke instead was holding back the urge to vomit as the stench hit him, in front of him instead of the expectant hall of doors leading to individual bedrooms; Was a large garbage room filled with the unwanted and unnecessariness of the Retirement home.

'_The yellow man.'_ thought Sasuke angrily as he turned around, only to find an old man sitting where the staff member had been. 'Calmly' Sasuke walked back to where he had been informed of his mission, quickly making an area sweep of the room for the other man.

"Where was the man who sat here moments ago?" asked Sasuke to the old man on the bench.

"Well sonny, I don't remember seeing anyone but me sitting here." The old man rasped out, giving Sasuke a lip-only smile. Within a moment recognition flashed in Sasukes eyes, without a moment to waste Sasuke lunged forwards to the old man, his hands out stretched and aimed for the mans throat. Instead of showing fear or moving away the old man simply remained still, his smile quickly escalating into a toothy grin.

Just as Sasukes finger's came into contact with the mans throat a burst of smoke issued from his body, clouding it from view. Sasuke smiled grimly as he dug his fingers into whatever rested between his fingers, slowly the smoke clouded and revealed to Sasuke what he already knew from the texture of the object between his hands; He was holding a chicken drumstick.

"How do you like that my boy? I call it, Art of the food! You should see me do it with cake…But last time I did they didn't let me have desert." rambled off a voice from behind Sasuke, who as the voice ended turned around to face the old man, who had been sitting at the bench standing up with a cane in his hand. A moment of silence pasted in the room along with a tumble weed between the two men.

A moment later the atmosphere was broken as a loud pounding noise sounded through the room. At the first signs of the noise the senile old man's eyes widened and he cracked.

"Hide me m'boy!" he pleaded with Sasuke, quickly closing the distance between them. Sasuke in all his Uchiha glory smugly smirked down at the old man, on the inside however he was slightly disturbed by the way the old man was acting. '_It couldn't be that horrible could it?'_ he asked himself as his eyes locked onto the source of the noise.

A moment later the door burst open, in the doorway stood…The largest woman Sasuke had ever seen. Sasuke had for one always believed that men were naturally taller then women, however seeing he largest woman, Nye person in Konoha simply rerouted his views on the matter. At seven foot eight the woman's height was only proportionate to her width, for some reason the woman had shaved off most of her hair, leaving her with only a small layer of 'fur' on the top of her head.

"Bert, Time for your…sponge bath." said the woman in a deep baritone voice, which forced Sasuke to show a sign of discomfort. A small wince later 'Bert' was detached from Sasuke with the help of the sizable woman. Without restraint Sasuke stared up at the face of his 'saviour' directly into her returned gaze.

"Who are you?" she asked curiously as she lean down towards Sasuke slightly. Unconsciously Sasuke leaned backwards, as nonchalantly as he could Sasuke replied.

"Uchiha, Sasuke. I am here for a mission."

Instantly the woman's face lit up with recognition and she let out a whoop of joy.

"Ah, yes, the Genin, Head through that door and clean up." She said briskly as she pointed over her shoulder to the room that 'Bert' had pointed out to him. Beside the female staff member Bert was laughing obscenely murmuring 'I get the last laugh' to himself in between the hyena like bursts of laughter he released.

Scowling to himself Sasuke turned back to the room full of the candy of nightmares and steeled himself for what he knew, would change him forever, for bad, or for worse.

* * *

**_ Team Seven Gather: A New Mission!_**

****

Silently Team seven walked along the streets of Konoha towards their mutual goal; The Hokages tower. The sun had already begun to set from its high throne in the sky towards the west.

"I…Hate cats." Grunted out Hinata as she reached up to her cheek and rubbed a small pink scar, evidence of a healing technique being used. In her other hand she held a small black cage in which an exhausted cat slept covered in dust and various other green pieces of plants.

"I hate old people." grunted out Sasuke from the other side of Naruto, grimacing as he breathed in through his nose. To everyone else all they smelled was the crisp smell of clean freshly ironed clothing. But to Sasuke the smell from his ordeal lingered on within his skin, an almost unnoticeable shudder broke from Sasukes control as he remembered the smell he had been subjected to only hours before.

After Sasukes proclamation silence slowly drifted in between the three Genin as they continued on their way, until both Sasuke and Hinata suddenly stopped and turned their heads towards Naruto, who continued to walk for a meter before realising that the other two had stopped.

Looking to his two team-mates Naruto wondered what they had wanted him to say until realisation hit him.

"I err…hate dogs?" Naruto hesitantly added to the other two's statements and in returned received identical narrowed eyes from both Sasuke and Hinata, before they let up and continued walking with Naruto, who fell back into spot between his two team-mates.

For the rest of the journey they walked in silence towards the Hokage tower, only occasionally throwing each other various glances filled with such thing as; concern, anger, rage, hate, loathing, envy, and like, many things evident in the ninja way of life, soon the Hokage tower loomed in front of them.

"Yo." called out a bored voice from inside the doors of the tower.

Between both of the doors stood Kakashi holding in his hand a _green_ book, his eyes sparkling happily as he glanced back down to the page number and closed his book. Ignoring the two withering looks and single content look thrown towards him, Kakashi motioned for the three Genin to follow him into the building.

As Naruto entered the building he quickly glanced around the room to see if he recognised anyone in the room. Quickly deciding that no one he knew were in the room Naruto continued onwards following Kakashi, Until his eyes landed on a silvery haired ninja sitting by himself in a corner. As if sensing Naruto's stare the silver haired man looked up, making contact with Naruto's eyes through a black edged pair of spectacles.

'_I've never seen him before.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he continued to match the stranger's retaliation stare.

"As I'm sure you three are ready for another mission." Kakashi started but paused at the snarl from behind him before continuing. "I have taken the courtesy of arranging another mission for you, although I'm not sure what ti entails yet, you three should feel honoured, Genins normally have to accomplish sixteen D(egrading) mission before they are allowed anything above."

As Kakashi finished talking Naruto turned away from the silver haired stranger and looked towards his silver haired teacher only to find that he was already walking towards the staircase which lead to the Hokages office. Sparing a quick glance over his shoulder to the silver haired stranger, Naruto was surprised to find that he was no longer there, following up his initial glance with a quick sweep around the room, Naruto decided that he was no longer in the lobby.

'W_eird'_ thought Naruto, moments before he sunk into his mind and continued to mull over the appearance of the silver haired ninja he lost sight of.

"Let's see." came a tired voice from in front of him, causing Naruto to snap his head towards the source of the voice and blink in shock as the face as the Sandaime stared down at a scroll in his hands.

"Normally a team of Genin would have to wait until they have completed sixteen D(isrespecting) missions before they would be allowed anything above the rank." The Sandaime started only to be cut short by a small whimper from Hinata. "However." He pressed on," Your sensei, Kakashi has requested that I give you a higher ranking mission, for a number of reasons." He finished, sparing each Genin a glance.

_ 'Because I am a Hyuuga?'_

_ 'Because I am an Uchiha?'_

_ 'I wonder who he was.'_

Came the thoughts of the three Genin in response to the glance given to them.

"Further more, I will be issuing you a special mission even for Jounin and Chuunin standards."

Shifting his hand up to his mouth the Sandaime made a coughing noise as he cleared out his throat.

"I am sending you on a delivery mission to the village; Hidden Sound. While not entirely important, the scroll that you will be carrying contains the enlistment forms for the Chuunin exam being held here, in Konoha that they may attend which is to be hosted later on in the year. This is to be treated as a B ranked mission." The Sandaime finished sending an almost unnoticeable glance towards Kakashi.

"How long will we be away, old man?" asked Naruto curiously.

A sharp intake of breath next to him caused Naruto to glance towards Hinata, just in time to see her palm collide with his cheek, sending a sharp pain shuttering through his nerves.

"Don't call the Hokage old man!" Hinata reprimanded Naruto before turning back to the Sandaime and bowing to him.

"Forgive Naruto-kun please Hokage-sama?" Hinata asked politely.

"Its fine, I assure you." The Sandaime said dismissively, before looking back to Naruto.

"To answer your question, you will be away for an uncalculated amount of time.

"OR, until we finish the mission, right?" Kakashi butted in before nodding to the Sandaime.

"Anything else you need to add?" Kakashi asked the Sandaime lazily as he frowned slightly under his mask.

"Ah yes, another Genin will be joining you on this mission, he has special circumstances, his team-mates have achieved the Rank of Chuunin, but sadly he as not." The Hokage answered tiredly before calling out.

"Come in!"

With that the doors behind team seven clicked open and in walked someone. Naruto however did not turn around to greet the new comer; he remained looking at the Sandaime confusedly.

'_Shouldn't he be paired with another team-mate?'_ thought Naruto.

Behind Naruto the Genin smiled to everyone in the room.

"Hi, I'm Yakushi Kabuto."

****

* * *

** And that's the end of that.**

** If it feels incomplete, that's because It most likely is.**


	16. Deceptive Clouds

**Check out the one shot I wrote if you haven't already, your Author demands it!**

**On another note; don't tell me what to do, it really annoys me, read previous author notes and review replies for information, don't ask for it. I'm sure the person who that is aimed at knows that I am talking about them. Cough _Dark Naruto_ Cough **

_**All the world around enemy**_

_**They're tearing up the ground enemy**_

**_They're drawn in by the _sound**

_**Enemy, enemy I must eliminate my Enemy**_

_**Conflict – Disturbed**_

**Coincidence? I think not! Also, Note, The exceedingly large amount of commas I have employed, 458 exactly to be precise.**

**Encase no one reads my website 'notes', Can someone tell me the number of people Orochimaru has marked with his 'Cursed Seal'?**

**Another note, Shameless self insertions make me sick. In other words every time I look at the newest Naruto fiction I need a doctor, or at least a paper bag.**

**

* * *

__****The next morning**

As the rays of light filtered over the lush tree tops surrounding the awakening village of Konoha, the citizens stirred from their rest filled sleep. A certain faction of the citizens however, were already up and awake, moving around the village and accomplishing their tasks handed out by the village leaders.

One such ninja was making his way towards the village's gates, preparing to begin his first adventure outside his home. Smiling up into the golden sunrise, Naruto's cerulean eyes sparkled at the thought of travelling outside his village. Happily Naruto slipped his backpack over his right shoulder as he casually walked past the multitude of opening shops.

After a while Naruto finally was greeted by the sight of the twin guarded gates, glancing around Naruto wasn't surprised to find that no one besides him was at the gates, after all who turned up three hours early to a mission? Naruto did.

"You're early." Spoke someone behind Naruto, prompting him to turn around to greet the person, face to face.

"Kabuto-san, good morning." said Naruto as he issued a small smile towards the silver haired man. In return Naruto was graced with a slightly larger smile.

"A good morning it is, but I do believe we have not been formally introduced, Naruto-kun." said Kabuto pleasantly as he beckoned Naruto to follow him towards the side of the main gate. Sitting down on the ground, Kabuto discarded his equipment onto the ground and sat leisurely.

Following his suit Naruto carefully placed his backpack on the ground, and sat cross legged upon the ground. Taking Kabuto's silence as an indicator Naruto began to introduce himself.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like trai-."

But Kabuto kindly cut across him.

"No, no I mean your skills." Kabuto explained as he reached into his bag and pulled out a small stack of cards. As soon as the cards were in plain view Kabuto flicked his wrist and fanned the cards out, showing both of the sides to Naruto.

"What does a blank deck of cards have to do with anything?" asked Naruto bluntly, as he stared at the blank cards with undisguised confusion. Chuckling softly at Naruto's question Kabuto released a small burst of Chakra from his hand, allowing it to wash over the cards, instantly from where the blue wave touched, text and images began to appear. Soon not a single card in his hand remained blank.

"I collect information about everything ninja related, you name a ninja, and If I've ever met or seen them, they're in here!" Kabuto said proudly as he quickly shuffled through his deck rabidly, and slid out a single card towards Naruto. Without hesitating Naruto reached for the card and dragged it out of the pile, quickly lifting it to his view range.

From on the card Kabuto smiled up at him, his eyes closed adding to the humility of the picture, glancing up to Kabuto with a bemused smile upon his face, Naruto wasn't surprised to see Kabuto sporting an abashed look upon his face as he reached behind his head and scratched the base of his neck. Turning his gaze back to the card, Naruto blinked as the information slowly began to fade away, moments before he had a chance to read the information under Kabuto's picture.

Disgruntled Naruto handed back the now blank card to Kabuto, who slid it back into his deck, only to drag out another one. Turning the card over, Kabuto brought it up to Naruto's eye level and showed him the data side of the card. Naruto's breath hitched in his throat unexpectedly as the same cerulean eyes as he wielded stared back at him in defiance. Ignoring his picture Naruto glanced down to the information below his picture and noticed three words, followed by a few stars.

**Genjutsu – Null**

**Ninjutsu – Null**

**Taijutsu – ?**

"As you can see, I think the card malfunctioned." Kabuto said explanatorily as he turned the card back over to face him.

Naruto frowned slightly as he slid his gaze back up to Kabuto's, and shook his head slightly.

"No, no it's correct." mumbled Naruto softly as he switched his gaze to the ground between the two ninja.

Kabuto remained silent as he stared at Naruto's downcast eyes thoughtfully.

'_How unfortunate.' _Kabuto thought, _'Although his Taijutsu ranking is through is quite high for his age, not many can boast hand to hand skills at his age.' _He added in after-thought.

"Two years ago." Naruto began slowly as he turned his gaze upwards from the ground to Kabuto's.

"I failed the **Henge no Jutsu** technique at the Academy; I went to the Hokage and asked what he thought was wrong. A birth defect from what I can gather, caused my Inner coils to become constricted, they aren't large enough for the regular techniques such as Genjutsu and Ninjutsu." Naruto morosely explained, against his better judgement.

'_If that was true he would never have been able enrol, It must be because of the Kyuubi.'_ Kabuto deduced as he stared calculatingly at the younger Genin.

"Naruto-kun, you shouldn't worry, Taijutsu masters are among the most feared and respected between ninja." The silver haired Genin tried to sooth his comrade, to his effort's Naruto returned to his before demeanour.

"Thanks." Naruto said softly, before releasing a devious smile.

"So, what do you do Kabuto-sempai?" he asked slyly, his face mirroring his voice.

Kabuto blinked astounded, only to moments later smile down at Naruto.

"I'm a medic-nin." Kabuto said proudly, to which Naruto scoffed.

Instantly scowling at Naruto's disrespect Kabuto stood up and pointed towards the Gates of the village.

"Scoff again and I'll kick your ass out of here." Kabuto said sourly as he stared ominously down at Naruto, who in turn waved his hands in front of his face franticly.

"No, no! I just didn't think you would be a medic-nin!" Naruto valiantly tried to assure Kabuto, who in question slowly began to sit back down as he saw Naruto dismiss the potential insult towards himself. Reaching up to his spectacles Kabuto pressed the bridge across his nose upwards, sliding his glasses up towards the top of his nose, before he began his lecture.

"Medic Ninjas are some of the most deadly and helpful ninjas who exist, who else has detailed knowledge on the human anatomy and with simple senbon and disable and kill people with a single attack? Not only that, but on the field if a ninja is struck with a grievous wound they are able to heal the downed ninja and allow them to rejoin the fight, where as if a medic was not there they would be left to die."

Through the lecture Naruto remained silent as he processed the information Kabuto was giving him.

'_If, I learned something about the human body, I could…'_ Naruto began to think, but was soon cut off , as Kabuto's hand passed through his yellow locks, causing Naruto to scrunch his nose up and turn his gaze to Kabuto, who smiled sincerely down at Naruto.

"If you want, on the way to Sound, I'll teach you about the basic human anatomy?"

Instantly at the offer Naruto's eyes lit up, a moment later Kabuto fell backwards as the yellow and black blur known as Naruto clung to his chest, hugging him tightly. Through his shirt Kabuto could just make out a chorus of 'Thank you' coming from Naruto's mouth.

Slipping his hands over Naruto's shoulders Kabuto, with a little effort detached a smiling Naruto from him. Gradually a silence found it's place between the two Genin until it was broken.

"…Can we start now?" asked Naruto curiously as he smiled at Kabuto.

Returning the smile Kabuto nodded and began.

_**Time skip, three hours later**_

Naruto grimaced slightly as the apparition of Kabuto in front of him flickered slightly, before regaining its full form. Beside Naruto, Kabuto stood, clucking his tongue lightly, before motioning towards his false form. It was this scene that Hinata stumbled upon ten minutes later.

She watched as Naruto, unaided by the Chakra output of the Hidoi Hira, rained blow upon blow on the flickering Kabuto. Resiting the urge to call out to Naruto, she watched as Naruto's areas of choice to attack became obvious.

Naruto's hand slid forwards against Kabuto's chest, the palm passing through where Kabuto's heart would have been. A moment later the hand had retracted, only to push out once again strike out, this time to Kabuto's lower abdominal region was targeted.

'_He's aiming for vital organs…Oh Naruto-kun.'_ Hinata thought sadly as she made her presence known to both Naruto and Kabuto. Unknown to her, the moment she had moved beyond the buildings Kabuto had caught sight of her, but remained silent, unsure wether to tell Naruto to stop, or allow the girl to watch. A devious smile crept it's way onto Kabuto's mouth as he watched Hinata's face tint with discomfort at the sight of Naruto aiming for the volatile regions in his clones body.

"Good morning, Hyuuga-san." called out Kabuto casually, as he reached into the sky and lazily waved his hand from side to side. At the mention of Hyuuga, Naruto stopped his assault on Kabuto's Bunshin and turned to face where Kabuto was waving to. A smile instantly erupted upon his lips as he caught sight of Hinata, in another instance Naruto was in front of her, rambling on about what he had been learning with Kabuto in the past few hours.

"At first Kabuto-san was only telling me about the best places to heal." Naruto began, not noticing the slight glimmer of hope on Hinata's face. "But then after we got that stuff out of the way he showed me all the cool stuff for fighting!" Instantly Hinata's hope faded away, and a slight scowl was placed on her mouth. Within a moment she sent a scathing glance towards Kabuto, who in turn arched an eyebrow to Hinata, smiling smugly.

"That's…That's great Naruto-kun." Hinata finally said as she looked back to Naruto and blessed him with a small smile.

"I know the seven vital organs, do YOU?" teased Naruto, as he poked Hinata slightly on the nose. Twitching slightly, Hinata swatted at Naruto's hand.

"Of course I do!" Hinata said sourly, before slyly glancing to Naruto.

"Wait, did you say SEVEN vital organs?"

Enthusiastically Naruto nodded, before giving Hinata a confused glance. At the glance Hinata leaned forwards, so her lips were next to Naruto's ear, and whispered. '_Didn't he tell you the eighth?' _Instantly Naruto frowned and shook his head, before turning to Kabuto and giving him an annoyed look. Looking back to Hinata, Naruto asked quietly.

"No…can you?" as he gave Hinata a pleading look. Hinata, as her eyes met his, simply smiled serenely, before shaking her head.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, you'll have to find out for yourself." She said innocently, accompanying her voice with a smile, which was anything but innocent. At Hinata's decline of his request, Naruto pouted and turned to Kabuto, who he found chuckling at his misfortune. In a moment of anger, Naruto dashed over to Kabuto, stopping in front of him and stomping his foot against the ground.

"How come you didn't tell me the eighth?" Naruto demanded angrily as he glared at Kabuto.

Shrugging slightly Kabuto responded.

"There is an eighth?" he asked, feinting confusion. He however was sparred whatever Naruto was about to say.

"Is Kakashi-sensei here yet?" Sasukes voice rang out from behind Hinata, causing all three Genin to turn their heads towards the sound. Hinata, who at this point was slightly miffed at Naruto's sudden dispersion of attention directed at her, snapped her head towards Sasuke.

"No you idiot, he isn't here, as you can plainly see!" she growled out, forgetting herself, only to moments later flush slightly at the confounded look Sasuke was giving her.

'_Is this the same girl from two years ago?' _Sasuke wondered internally as he gifted Hinata with a look of appraisal. At the look, Hinata tore her gaze from Sasukes and turned back to Naruto, who himself was giving Hinata a similar look. Not daring to look at Kabuto, Hinata simply walked towards the place where Naruto had dumped his bag, and carefully placed hers next to it, before sitting down on the ground and looking towards Naruto.

Silence slowly settled in as the Genins took their place around the Main gates. Naruto glanced back to Kabuto's Bunshin to check if it was still there, and to his satisfaction, it was. Moving back towards it, Naruto slid back into the Hidoi Hira's traditional opening stance and waited.

Kabuto, at seeing Naruto move back to his false self waited until Naruto fell back into his unique stance, which he himself could not place. As soon as Naruto seemed ready, Kabuto quietly gave the signal for Naruto to begin, listing off the various points on the body Naruto was meant to attack.

Residing himself to watching Naruto, Sasuke was surprised to see, and hear, the areas Kabuto was listing off, and Naruto afterwards attacking.

'_He's showing him how to kill.'_ Sasuke thought neutrally, but his face showed his true feelings, a small frown, almost invisible, had taken its place upon his lips. Spar5ring a glance towards Hinata, Sasuke was not entirely surprised to see her staring at Naruto's moving form, with a soft frown, not unlike to his own, upon her lips.

It was THIS scene that from an explosion of smoke, Kakashi, the teacher of three of the Genin, arrived upon.

"Yo." Called Kakashi out tiredly as he took a moment to glance around the inside area of the Gates and locate his charges. Checking off Hinata and Sasuke, Kakashi's eyes quickly met with Naruto's form, who at the call had had his hand sticking in the false Kabuto's chest. A sweat drop formed at Kakashi's temple and slowly made it's way down his face.

"Ah, Naruto, we don't kill team-mates before a mission." He reprimanded as he began to think of the paperwork this would involve for both him and Naruto. A moment later Kakashi's eyes flickered to behind Naruto, where another Kabuto stood, giving him a confused look.

"Scratch that." mumbled Kakashi slightly as he motioned for the Genin to move close to him. Instantly all four Genin moved towards Kakashi, and stood once they reached him a few meters away.

"So, everyone, have a nice sleep?" he began casually, only to be cut across loudly by Naruto.

"Stop playing around! We've been chosen for this mission! We've got to be responsible!"** (1)**

Kakashi frowned under his mask at Naruto.

"Uh, lighten up."

"Humph.", Naruto turned away from Kakashi, folding his arms across his chest in a show of defiance.

"Fine, then we leave right now." Kakashi said casually as he turned to the Gate and slowly made his way towards it. Instantly three of the four Genins turned to the place they had left their equipment and quickly moved to retrieve it, Sasuke however still had his own pack on and moved with Kakashi towards the Gates.

* * *

And so the group began its journey from Konoha moving south from Konoha's entrance.

After a while of walking in silence Kakashi stopped and turned to the Genin behind him.

"Now that we are a decent way out from the eyes and ears in the city, I will explain our mission details, properly, as well as any other questions you feel the need to ask."

Reaching to one of the scroll pockets upon the front of his Jounin vest, flipping open the top and withdrawing a small scroll from the material. Unravelling the scroll, Kakashi cleared his throat before reading the information off the scroll.

"

**Mission Requirements: Delivery of Scroll to a Sound representative.**

**Mission Rank: Low B.**

**Mission Priority: High.**

**Mission Payment: Time Dependant.**

**Mission Information: Hired Ninja, hence forth referred to as party A, are to deliver Chuunin exam invitation to Hidden sound's representative, or village leader, hence forth known as party B from Hidden Leaf, hence forth known as party C. If party A are unable to accomplish the requirements of the agreement, another party, hence forth known as party D shall resume the mission and see to its accomplishment, if the newly hired party is also unable to accomplish the requirements. Party C will continue to , until nullification of contract are entitled to continue to hire new parties until the requirements are fulfilled.** **_(2)_ **

"

As Kakashi finished reading off the Scroll in his lecture voice, he looked up to see all four Genin staring at him confoundedly.

"It means, we have to deliver a scroll, it's a low B rank mission and we have to accomplish it as quickly as possible. The quicker we are the more we are paid. If we fail the mission by dying then another team will be hired or a Jounin." Kakashi explained slowly, noticing the nod from the four Genin after the diplomatic-lingo had been removed.

"So, where is Hidden Sound?" Naruto asked curiously, he had not heard of it before the mission.

To the question Kakashi shrugged lightly.

"What! You don't know!" Naruto exclaimed surprised, beside him both Hinata and Sasuke sported similar looks.

"I…may be able to help." Kabuto said softly as he reached behind his head, and into his backpack. Instantly Naruto's eyes lit up as he remembered.

"You have information about Sound on your cards?"

To the question Kabuto nodded, and brought out the deck of cards from his bag. With a small burst of Chakra to reveal the information on the cards, Kabuto shuffled through the deck quickly, until he came upon a certain card. Holding the card information side upwards, he told everyone to move closer to see.

On the card a miniature map on the entire continent was depicted, each region coloured in a different colour. It only took a split second for the three other Shinobi to realise what Kabuto was showing them, a map containing the boundaries of the different countries, and villages. Northeast of The fire country, a country around the size of a seventh of the fire country resided, it was coloured in grey.

"See this part here? It's called the Land of Rice Fields, I've heard rumours of Sound Nin coming and going through it from some other Chuunin. Unlike most hidden villages, Hidden sound is well…Hidden. I don't think anyone but a Sound nin knows its exact location, Or if they do, they haven't been talking."

"So we should try northeast?" murmured Kakashi thoughtfully, before nodding to Kabuto and turning towards the direction from which they were coming, and turning 45 degrees to the east. Within a few moments Kakashi was off again, walking towards the Land of Rice Fields. Behind him, the four Genin followed, although three of them were internally seething at the lack of care exhibited from their sensei, that and the fact that he had led them three hours south of Konoha, when they were from what Kabuto had said supposed to be heading Northeast.

"Stupid Old man…" mumbled Naruto under his breath, moments before wincing as the soft palm of Hinata's hand once again struck him. Turning to Hinata angrily he glared; only to cower away slightly at the glare Hinata was sending to him.

"Respect the Hokage!" she demanded, before slowly fading back to her normal demeanour. Naruto stunned, stared at her as he continued with his pace.

'_Since when has she been so…direct?'_ he wondered before scowling slightly.

"I've always call him that, he doesn't mind! Why do you?" he said sourly, turning his gaze away from Hinata and back onto the terrain ahead. If he had continued to look at Hinata, he would have seen the slight frown which had taken place upon her lips.

'_I didn't mean it that way, Naruto-kun.'_

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun." She murmured softly, as she tilted her head downwards and stared at the ground in front of them. Instinctively Naruto wanted to comfort Hinata and tell her, that he was sorry for snapping at her, he strained against the urge with all his might, fighting the growing urge.

Naruto sighed.

'_I tried, I really did.'_

With that Naruto stepped closer to Hinata and slid an arm around her waist, giving her a one armed hug. Hinata tensed for a moment, before looking up to Naruto's face, a soft flush of red coloured her cheeks as she, like Naruto had done sighed, but instead of with resignation, she sighed contently and laid her head upon his shoulder.

Beside them Sasuke tried his best not to cast a glare at the two Genin.

'_That bastard, he should be my friend, not hers.'_ He raged in his mind, outside his mind his finger was twitching uncontrollably as it longed to feel the metal of his kunai in his hand. A delirious smile made it's way onto Sasukes face, only taken notice of by a single person.

Beside Sasuke Kabuto smiled contently, everything as going as he had expected it would. He had Naruto's trust, he had part of Hinata's trust by proxy, and Sasuke was angry at Hinata. If all went well his secondary mission would be completed without any major hitches.

Leaning over to Sasuke he whispered softly.

"Touching isn't it?" trying not to attract the attention of the other Genin, and Kakashi. In response to Kabuto's question Sasuke grunted slightly and switched his gaze from his team-mates to the other Genin. To Sasukes gaze Kabuto presented a small smile, before turning and facing the front again.

Leading the group Kakashi walked ahead, his eyes engrossed in an orange book, lined with silver. In small writing along the spine Kabuto when Kakashi had first brought it out read; '**_Come Come Paradise: The Panty Deception._**' Somehow, even while reading it, Kakashi managed to avoid the multitude of trees in their path as they trod their way through the forest, towards their destination.

'_Soon.'_ He thought darkly to himself, as his face maintained the deceptive smile it had woven.

* * *

**_A week later, our heroes are making their way along a long since deserted trade route, stretching along the eastern side of the Fire country; all the way up, to their final destination! Since we last left our heroes, Ash ca-Err, Sorry wrong story. Naruto and friends_ _were making their way towards the first possible location for Hidden Sound._**

Nervously Naruto continued along with the group along the over grown path through the forest, for the past half an hour he had continuously gotten the feeling that someone was watching them. With a quick glance to Hinata, Naruto frowned; she was preoccupied and talking to Kabuto about various medical techniques. Turning his head towards his right, Naruto's eyes made contact with Sasukes, instant recognition occurred. With a small nod from Sasuke, Naruto was sure he felt it to, even if barely.

"Kakashi-sensei, can we rest for a bit?" Naruto asked quietly.

At hearing Naruto's voice, Kakashi stoped and lifted his gaze from his book upwards. In a moment he had turned around and was looking down at Naruto. The moment their gazes met, Naruto quickly moved his eyes from side to side, trying to signal Kakashi. To his surprise Kakashi's eyes twinkled and he nodded.

"A break would be good, I am a little tired, so I can't imagine how the _four_ of you are feeling." He said, emphasising the four to Naruto, before throwing a quick meaningful glance to Sasuke. After a moment Kakashi turned to Hinata and Kabuto, only to find the two still conversing and falling slightly ahead of their stopping spot.

"Uh, you two, we're taking a break." He called out, slightly louder then he normally would have. Instantly the sound of her sensei caused Hinata to stop and turn around. At the realisation that they were ahead of the others, Hinata flushed a deep red and began mumbling incoherent apologies. Kabuto on the other hand, just smiled sheepishly and moved back to the group.

"I'm surprised with the weather." Kakashi suddenly said after a few minutes of silence.

Although confused, Naruto nodded and followed on.

"It did look like it would rain this morning didn't it?" Naruto asked as flipped open the top of his pack and searched through it for something to eat. Had he looked up he would have seen Kakashi's mask twitch upwards slightly.

"No, It seemed more like it would just become overcast." Mused Kakashi as he glanced to his other students. Hinata and Kabuto it seemed, weren't paying attention to the 'idle' chit-chat Naruto and Kakashi were enjoying; Sasuke on the other word was hanging onto every word of it.

'_Four enemies, not from Rain, Might be from Cloud, Lightning specialists…This may be a good test. But what could they want? Disrupting a simple scroll delivery mission does not seem likely; they would want something or someone in the team, Kabuto? No he seems harmless enough…yeah right, But It isn't him. It may be Naruto or Hinata, the Hyuuga clan had an incident with Hidden cloud before, and Naruto seems to have become deeply affiliated with them.'_

"Could it possibility get windy later?" asked Sasuke softly as his eyes flickered from Kakashi to Naruto. A thoughtful look appeared on Kakashi's face before he shook his head lightly.

"No, I doubt it's going to get to windy for us to continue on." He assured lazily before turning to Hinata and Kabuto; sadly both Kabuto and Hinata still had not caught on.

'_Should I spell it out for them? We'd be engaged straight away, but at least they would have half a second to prepare.'_ After weighing up the Pro's and Con's Kakashi decided to allow both Kabuto and Hinata to remain ignorance, even if only for a small while longer.

"Hinata, I know you enjoy talking about medicine, but you need to pay more attention to your surroundings. You could have walked off without us." Kakashi lectured her softly as he lifted up his hand from his side, and proceeded to wave his finger between them in the air.

"Those who leave their friends behind are worse then trash." said Naruto lazily, as out of the corner of his eye he glanced at Kakashi. Who in turn arched an eyebrow to Naruto, but still nodded.

'_That's not what I meant.'_ Thought Kakashi absently as he tried to pin point the location of the enemies trailing them.

'_I haven't fought a Cloud-nin in an age, ever since that treaty was signed, although it is a good thing, I guess. Lightning techniques make my hair all fuzzy.'_ Sighing softly Kakashi recalled the first time he used the Chidori in battle. His enemy was too stunned to move at first, and when he had attacked the other burst out laughing, falling to the ground and causing Kakashi to miss his target.

'_Laughter is the most surprising way to dodge.'_ He reminisced.

Slowly Kakashi stood up, stretching his legs. Glancing into the shrubbery surrounding them, Kakashi caught sight of a pair of bloodshot black eyes staring out coldly at him, after a few moments the eyes seemed to fade away from the bushes. Reaching towards his kunai pouch, Kakashi slid his hand inside, and withdrew a single Kunai.

"Hinata, Kabuto, we are surrounded by four Cloud-nin, be good and get ready?" Kakashi lazily asked, as he brought the Kunai up to its defensive position. In front of him, the moment he had drawn the Kunai, both Naruto and Sasuke had gotten into their individual stances, facing their backs together, their eyes scanning the greenery for any sign of movement.

In the same instance Hinata quickly climbed to her feet and moved into the opening stance of the Gentle fist. Beside her, Kabuto calmly reached up to his nose and pushed his glasses back towards his eyes. In a few seconds, gone was the gentle medic-nin, in its place the **Kabuto, the Dismantler © (3)** stood.

From the surfaces of both of Kabuto's hands a controlled inferno of Chakra blossomed, enveloping his hands in a shroud of energy. Bringing up his hands to an offensive position, Kabuto scanned the area, as had his comrades before, in search of the hidden shinobi.

Suddenly a rustle from in front of him caught his attention, a moment later a black clad figure tore forth from the leaves, without thinking Kabuto lunged to his right, avoiding a series of metallic kunai that the enemy had thrown. In an instant Kabuto was upon the ninja, sending a flurry of Chakra enhanced slashes to the enemy, who in turn parried the attacks, only to delivery his own in succession.

Beside Kabuto, Hinata had her hands equally dirty, the moment the ninja Kabuto was fighting had burst forth from his hiding place; another ninja had dropped down from the tree tops. Through training borne instincts Hinata automatically activated the Byakugan, giving her enough time to dive to the side to avoid a ground shattering kick. Quickly scampering to her feet, Hinata took a brief moment to check her attacker's headband.

Within milliseconds an unconditional rage burst forth from her heart and saturated her mind, giving her a single motive.

_**Revenge.**_

That single word became the driving force behind her actions, and before she could even conceive a thought, she lunged at the Cloud Nin, intent on their death. Without hesitating Hinata stabbed her fingers towards the enemy's heart, only to retract her hand and aim at another organ. Without a moments notice the cloud Nin was put on the defensive, only barely able to keep up with the infuriated leaf Nin.

A small grunt issued from the ninja opposite Hinata as she landed a solid strike upon his stomach. A moment's hesitation in his movements was all Hinata needed, another strike was aimed for the Cloud Nin's heart, yet once again it was intercepted and blocked. Hinata's eyes widened as she saw the vicious smirk on the Cloud Nin's face.

With that, the positioned switched, Hinata valiantly tried to defend against the Cloud Nin's onslaught of attacks, at the same time as she attempted to delivery clean hits on his body.

In a moment of carelessness, Hinata send her palm towards the enemies head. Slowly her eyes widened, as time around her seemed to slow down. In front of her, the cloud nin tilted his head to the right, but her eyes were on his hands, no longer were they attempting to strike her, instead they were moving through two hand seals.

"**Raiton: Dengeki-ken(4)"** the words echoed from his voice, as from the second seal the man's right hand ignited in a small cloud of lightning and sprung out towards Hinata's chest. Suddenly time seemed to speed up to normal, and a searing pain erupted from her chest, almost immediately a pained shriek erupted from Hinata's mouth, only to be cut off as the jolt passing through her body faded away. The moment she regained her senses Hinata switched to the offensive again, aiming for her opponents vital points.

Glancing over his shoulder at the first sounds of Hinata's voice, Naruto winced as his enemy landed a direct hit against his chest, which was instantly followed up by a barrage of light strikes to the same area. Holding in a wince Naruto kicked off from his right, allowing him to spin upon the balls of his feet, with the added momentum of his spin, Naruto slammed his opened palm into the other ninja's chest, releasing a sizable flow of Chakra into their chest.

The moment Naruto felt the ebb of the released Chakra mellow out he smirked superiorly, whoever he was fighting right now would be feeling immense pain in their main organs for at least a minute. '_Enough time to help Hinata.'_ Naruto thought absently as he turned his back on his opponent.

A Major mistake on his part.

"**Raiton: Raimei Renda (5)" **snarled a wheezing voice from behind Naruto.

Without a single warning thousands of miniature sonic booms struck Naruto's back, grunting slightly Naruto pun around on his foot, pressing the his thumbs and index finger together. Without thinking, Naruto flooded the space between the two points with Chakra, the moment that he felt the proper amount of energy had been distributed he shouted; **"Hazama dashihoudai! (6)"**

From the point between Naruto's hands an ocean blue surge of energy erupted, in the form of a flash. A second later an identical flash of Chakra erupted on the person he was fighting be fore's head, sending the shinobi shuttling backwards as the energy tore it's way through his head, carrying the physical matter along with it's essence.

'_For Hanabi-Chan.'_ Thought Naruto grimly as he brought his right hand up, parallel with the ground. A moment later his hand ignited in a luminous display of Chakra. Unlike the previous time he had shown Iruka to pass the Genin exam, the attack was not imperfect, it was perfected, and not a single portion of the Chakra was being wasted. Under the immense contained energy, Naruto's hand was unseeable under the veil of electric blue energy.

"Don't kill him Naruto!" shouted out Kakashi as he lent backwards to avoid a diagonal slash made by his adversary.

At hearing his sensei, Naruto faltered, staring down at the slowly recovering form of the Cloud Nin in front of him, Naruto's inner sense of justice battled against his humanitarian side. In the few moments Naruto was occupied, his chosen adversary had gathered his wits about himself and moved to his feet, and it began again, Faceless Cloud Nin VS Uzumaki Naruto.

Kakashi, having realised the problems which could arise from such close quarters combat had at the moment his opponent had shown himself moved away from the other Genin, manoeuvring his opponent's back onto the others. The first sign of what his adversary was capable of was the lightning engraved sword he was carrying. As it turned out, the man was mediocre at best.

Over the last few minutes Kakashi had gotten bored with the attacking patterns of the man, and had turned his attention to Kabuto and his charges.

Kabuto's opponent stood zero to none of a chance. His hands Enhanced with the _all purpose_ medic ninja technique **_Chakra Scalpel_**. Had from the beginning of the duel slowly picked his opponent apart. Without able use of any of his limbs, Kabuto's enemy had fallen to the ground as a metaphorical bag of bones. Just as Kabuto was about to deliver the fatal blow, Kakashi's order to Naruto had reached his ears, causing him to hesitate and instead leave his opponent on the ground.

Sasuke on the other hand was having slight trouble with his target, so far both of the combatants had stuck to Taijutsu, both Nin sported various bruises on their body, but none serious. Grimacing slightly at Sasukes naivety, Kakashi swayed to the left, avoiding another of his opponent's now aggravated attempts.

"Sasuke, don't drag it out." He called out lazily.

The only sign that Sasuke had heard his order was the increased speed of his movements. It was all that Kakashi needed to switch his attention from Sasuke to another of the Genin, Hinata in fact. Although spirited and determined, Hinata was slowly losing ground to the Cloud shinobi.

_**CRACK.**_

Kakashi's eyes widened significantly as Hinata's opponent slammed their fist directly against her forehead. The now stunned Hyuuga slowly drifted backwards and fell onto the ground. Without pausing, her attacker began shifting his hands through a series of seals.

Naruto from the other side, had turned around at the loud noise of flesh and bone meeting a replica of itself. Time for the first time in the battle for him, seemed to slow down, as Hinata, wide eyed gracelessly sailed backwards onto the ground. Looming in front of her, the Cloud Nin's seals brought fear through Naruto's mind, causing him to recklessly abandon his battle.

_**SNAP.**_

His fist made solid contact against the back of Hinata's opponents head, sending him rocketing over Hinata's body. Huffing slightly, Naruto smiled down at Hinata, and extended his hand towards her. At seeing Naruto above her, Hinata's face broke out into a smile of pure relief, only to turn into horror.

"**Gi-Kumogata yusouki!"** screamed a voice from above Naruto.

Snapping his head upwards, Naruto grinded his teeth together as from the hands of his previous opponent, a billowing cloud of… clouds plummeted downwards towards them. Leaning forwards over Hinata, Naruto prepared for the inevitable collision between his body and the cloud generated by his enemy.

'_Don't kill him Naruto! Dammit, next time I'M NOT LETTING THEM LIVE.'_ thought Naruto angrily.

With moments to spare, a sudden shift of shadows over him prompted Naruto to take another glance up at his impending doom. Instead of the white and grey and the cloud, Naruto instead caught sight of Kabuto's face, smiling sincerely down at Naruto. As their eyes met Kabuto whispered softly.

"_Don't be careless next time, Naruto-kun."_ moments before the cloud above him crashed through him, enveloping him from head to toe, leaving nothing to be seen. Seconds passed, and slowly the cloud dispersed, only to reveal nothing.

From the moment the Cloud connected with Kabuto, the same wheezing voice Naruto was fighting before was recreated in a hacking laughter.

From deep within, Naruto felt something snap as the echo of laughter bounced around within his heart. From the snap an uncontrollable hatred slowly spread through his veins, burning up any sense of control he had previously. Just as the laughter had begun, it stopped.

Tilting his head upwards, Naruto's eyes made contact with the Cloud Nin who had used the technique which hit Kabuto. A frown appeared on the enemies face as he noted that his target was still there.

"The Hyuuga got lucky, but this time I won't Miss." taunted the man in his wheezy voice.

'_He's after Hinata-Chan…'_

'_He killed Kabuto-san…'_

From the burning hatred, a sudden rush of cold blossomed, smothering Naruto in its calm recesses. Slowly Naruto straightened up into his full height, his eyes remaining on those of his adversary.

Quicker then the Cloud Nin's eyes could follow, Naruto's right hand raised upwards until it was parallel with the terrain. Instead of the previously blue Chakra which accompanied the use of Naruto's skill, no emissions towards the Cloud Nin were seen. The latent Chakra Naruto had smothered the enemy's body with slowly seeped towards a single point; Their Heart.

Curling his fingers inwards, Naruto's face took on an eerily calm façade, as his opponents eyes suddenly widened, and his hand made it's way to cover his heart. From Naruto's calm façade, small smile broke through, almost inconceivable in its size. A scream of pure pain erupted from the Cloud Nin's vocal cords.

A torrent of gore exploded from the Nin's chest, spraying Naruto's body, and Hinata who still lay on the ground dazed with a senseless amount of blood.

Within Naruto's now closed hand a bloody lump of torn flesh shuddered, slowly, reducing the amount of shudders until it finally came to a complete stop. At the sight of the organ in Naruto's hand, every ninja in the clearing stopped moving, their mouths agape at the merciless nature of Naruto's attack.

"**Juushin(8)**." mumbled Naruto softly, as his fingers unfurled from the bloody lump of flesh within their grips, allowing the seeping organ to fall to the ground, next to Hinata's position.

Hinata underneath Naruto trembled in fear as her eyes remained transfixed on Naruto's hands, although the organ itself had dropped from his hands, the crimson blood still slowly seeped downwards and coated his palm.

"I…won't let you get Hinata-Sa…Hinata-Chan." Naruto said, pausing at her Suffix and correcting himself. Hinata, at Naruto's correction felt a small flutter in her stomach, the feelings of fear slowly changed to adoration.

"Naruto-kun…" she whispered softly as she shakily made her way to her feet. Glancing towards Kakashi and Sasuke, Hinata was horrified t find Kakashi had taken his enemies sword from him, and impaled him upon a tree while Naruto's technique had taken everyone's attention from their own problems to Naruto's devastating technique.

Forcing herself to ignore her morbid fascination with the way Kakashi dealt his opponent his death Hinata turned to Sasuke to see if he had finished his adversary, to her surprise Sasuke stood by himself, still staring at Naruto. Turning her gaze to Naruto quickly she opened her mouth, only to see an urgent glint in his eyes as his hands touched her shoulders and brought her closer to his body.

Realisation struck Hinata instantly, as Naruto spun her around with himself, she caught sight of the same billowing cloud which had almost gotten them before. The Cloud engulfed Naruto's body as he pushed her away out of the Cloud's range.

Naruto watched in satisfaction as Hinata fell backwards, away from the cloud. Hinata's scream found it's way to his ears as through the clouds enveloping him he could see the mixed emotions in Hinata's eyes. From the sides of his vision darkness slowly spread across, removing Hinata's face from his view and soon after unconsciousness followed.

* * *

**1 – That's a tribute to Pokemon 2000.**

**2 – Final Fantasy VIII Tribute.**

**3 – Joke.**

**4 – Lightning Release: Electric Shock Sabre.**

**5 – Lightning Release: Thunder barrage.**

**6 – Gorge of Water.**

**7 – False Cloud ?.**

**8 – Brutal Heart.**

**It's Sunday night, Sleepy time. **

* * *


	17. Captive, Escapist, Experiment

**Did you miss me? I'm rather saddened at the lack of reviews It received, I had assumed I would at least receive fifteen, but sadly my estimate was off. Perhaps this story has lost the interest of those who use to read it? Well whatever the case in two weeks, the world as I k now it will change. Yes that is right, It will be my birthday and that means that the awesome and outrageous will occur. 11 reviews to 919 hits, in other words, 908 of you people are freeloaders.**

**On another note, Australian Army ration packs have some weird things in it. I liked the Berry and Banana fizzers though, they tasted nice.**

**No lyrics today, I've been listening to instruments. Which would have been a pain to type out.**

* * *

As the clouds dissipated Hinata's cry of anguish filled the air. From on the ground she stared at the spot Naruto had been standing moments before he had pushed her out of the way. On the othersider of the disappearing clouds, the Cloud Nin that Sasuke had been fighting eyes met Hinata's. Without waiting a moment he charged at her, intent on completing his mission, one way or another.

At the sight of the Cloud Nin, Hinata felt a cold rage envelop her entire mind. Enraged, Hinata leapt to her feet and charged at the Cloud Nin, intent on ending his life. Just as they were upon each other, a puff of smoke appeared between them. Hinata through the use of the Byakugan realised who it was immediately, but it did not stop her from charging. Just as she dodged to the person's right, their hand lashed out onto her shoulder, effectively halting her moving forwards as he dug his fingers into both her clothing and skin.

"LET ME GO!" she screamed out angrily as she slashed her hands at the Cloud Nin on the other side of Kakashi, who was dangling in the air, with Kakashi's hand crushing their windpipe. Kakashi continued to hold Hinata away from the Cloud Nin, until her screams were slowly replaced with barely held in sobs. At that point she crumpled to the ground and the tears broke through.

"Sasuke, please take care of Hinata for a moment, I need to have a few words with our little friend here." Kakashi said over his shoulder as he turned away from Hinata and Sasuke. Slowly he lowered, the struggling Cloud Nin to the ground and increased the pressure on their throat. As the Cloud Nin's breaths became shallower and shallower.

The Cloud Nin was unable to struggle any longer as they lost consciousness due to the lack of oxygen. At that point, Kakashi loosened his grip on the enemy Nin and walked away from Hinata and Sasuke, leaving them both in the clearing, surrounded by two dead Nin's and a single incapacitated Cloud Nin. If Hinata had paid attention to that single Cloud Nin, she would have realised that he was still alive. Safe to say it was lucky for them that she didn't.

Sasuke hesitantly moved over to Hinata and stood beside her, unsure of what to say. He himself was reeling at the loss of Naruto. Slowly, Sasuke moved his hand onto Hinata's shaking shoulders, causing her to look up at his hand, and follow it to his face. Sasuke offered her a small smile.

"Naruto…wouldn't have wanted you to cry for him." Sasuke said after a small while. He immediately regretted it as Hinata's eyes hardened. Reaching to her shoulder, Hinata knocked Sasukes hand off and moved to her feet. Hinata stared up coldly into Sasukes eyes, the veins induced by the Byakugan slowly faded away as she parted her lips.

"Don't talk about Naruto-kun in past tense." were her only words.

Not waiting for Sasukes reaction, Hinata turned to where she had dropped her backpack before the fighting had begun. Sasuke simply stood still, mulling over the incident which occurred only moments before. For all his so called genius, he couldn't understand why Naruto had sacrificed his well being for Hinata's.

'_Sure they seemed extremely friendly, maybe more then what we had previously. Would Naruto have done the same for me? Or did he do it because it was his duty? It doesn't make any logical sense. Would I do it for Naruto? No I wouldn't my first concern is Itachi. What is Naruto's first concern? Is it, Hinata? So many questions so few answers.'_ Sasuke sighed softly as his thought turned up nothing but more questions.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a small stir of movement from the area where Kabuto had been fighting.

'_One of them is still alive?'_ he thought surprised, the surprise soon vanished, and in its place was the familiar thoughts of vengeance. Without so much as a second thought, Sasuke reached into his weapons pouch and withdrew a single shuriken. With ease drilled into his head by long hours of training, Sasuke flicked his wrist and sent the metal weapon slicing through the air towards the incapacitated Cloud Nin's neck.

Sasuke slid his eyes closed and listened; soon afterwards the slice of metal meeting flesh and bone rang out through the air, signalling that Sasukes success in hitting his target. A rustling of clothing told Sasuke that Hinata had turned around after the shuriken had hit its mark, and most likely had seen the after spray of the shuriken cutting into the ninja's throat.

"Sasuke! He was helpless!" exclaimed Hinata disapprovingly.

Only to mutter, "You should have let me torture him." afterwards.

Sasuke blinked in surprise, he had only heard the word torture, but he could surmise what Hinata had wanted to do with the final Cloud Nin.

"They weren't from Cloud." A voice came from behind Sasuke, prompting both he and Hinata to turn to the source.

Kakashi stood semi-rigidly with his hands in his pockets. His visible eye was looking towards Hinata concernedly, and for good reason.

"…what do you mean? Of course they're from Cloud! Look at the forehead protectors! They used Lightning techniques!" Hinata said, her voice beginning to get a hysterical edge to it.

Kakashi shrugged slightly and brought out, from within his pockets a forehead protector. The metallic surface of it was smudged with bloody finger prints. He lifted it up for both Sasuke and Hinata to see, and then turned the band over to show the other side. Instead of the seamless design the normal forehead protectors had, a series of welts kept the material connected to the metal plate.

"They were using low level lightning techniques, they are common to find among scrolls. Even in Konoha we have those two techniques." He reasoned to Hinata.

"Although they were after you Hinata, they weren't trying to kill you. That one didn't know much; apparently I spiked the Jounin of the team to the tree." At that point, Kakashi's visible eye flicked over to the tree which held the Jounin up with the help of the man's own sword.

"I'm not that good at interrogation, so I couldn't find out their actual village, if they had one. But Naruto and Kabuto should be near by, the Technique they used **Gi-Kumogata yusouki **is like the **Shunshin no Jutsu**, except that it forces another person to teleport instead of the user."

"That means we can get Naruto-kun and Kabuto-san back!" Hinata exclaimed, her eyes wide with hope. Without waiting for Kakashi's signal, Hinata swung her backpack over her shoulders and reactivated the Byakugan, setting off straight away in search of any sign of Naruto.

Both Kakashi and Sasuke mimicked Hinata's movements except with an itty bit more restraint.

* * *

The sound of foot steps could be heard all along the dark stone corridor, every step was revibrating despite the soles of the person's feet being designed to minimise the noise made. Even though the corridor walls were dimly alight, not even a single thing could be seen from beneath the shadows cloaking their face.

Every time the person walked past a door, they would move closer to it, checking if it for a sign, only to walk away from it and continue their search. This continued for a time until the person came to a slightly different door, the door nearest to them was black in texture; the only detail that gave away its composure was the small wooden chips hanging off the edge of it. Across the top and bottom of the door, metal braces were erect against the wooden frame.

Reaching towards the doors handle, the person gripped the cold steel object and twisted it. A click was heard as the gears inside the door twisted and buckled, sliding in the metal block between the door and its frame. With their free hand the person reached forwards and placed their hand above the door handle. For a moment their hand was bathed in a soft blue glow, only for the door in the moments after to absorb the luminous energy.

The person remained still; keeping their hands in the exact place he had placed them. Suddenly another click was heard, and the person's shoulders sagged in slight relief, before they steeled themselves again. With a small tug on the door it arched open, allowing the person to peer into the room beyond.

Instantly the light from the torches filtered into the room illuminating the contents in a soft yellow glow. Everything remained still for a minute, the only movements the shadows cast by the dancing flames. Without warning the person slammed the door shut violently and turned upon their heel, heading back the way they came.

After a small amount of time, the person wandered into the significantly brighter areas of the complex, moving towards the end of a hallway, where a single barren door stood. The door itself, unlike the one he had opened before was a simple sheet of metal on hinges.

As the person neared the door, the light washed over their face, revealing their features. A greyish tinge encompassed their entire face, giving them the appearance of an underground rat. Their eyes were a murky brown, speckled with blots of black. Covering the top of their head to their shoulders was a matted main of brown hair, at first the thin cheek bones would have given away the impression of them being a woman, but a quick glance towards their throat would remove the doubt of their gender, a small bump just under their jaw gave it away.

A thin sheet of sweat covered his brow, slowly trickling downwards onto his cheek as he neared the door. Without breaking a beat, he reached forwards to the door and pressed his hand against the doors edge, pushing it open. In seconds he had crossed the threshold of the room, soon he had reached the middle of the room and stood still, on the far side of the room in front of him, sat a single person.

Supported only by a thin straw weaved mat, a silver haired man sat silently in the lotus position, his breathing inaudible from the slow breaths he took. On his forehead two crimson dots stood out against the pale white of his skin. Soft lavender folds of material covered his entire body.

Silence reigned in the room; the only sounds audible were the shallow breaths of the brown haired man. Slowly the breathing sounds became more prominent as anxiety began to set in, shudders slowly began to rack the mans body, until-

"Why have you disturbed my meditation time?" the man on the ground asked softly as he pried open his eye lids, from underneath emerald green eyes stared up into the murky brown eyes of the other man. The brown haired man's body stiffened instantly as the emotionless green eyed hit his.

"I…the Hyuuga…" he began slowly before mentally shaking himself.

"The team did not capture the correct person." flew out of his mouth rapidly, in the few moments after he had finished speaking, the silver haired man rose up from his position, his eyes remaining on the other mans the entire time.

"Orochimaru-sama will not be pleased, show Me." he demanded of the other man softly.

Without hesitating the brown haired man turned upon his heel and walked out of the room, although he could not hear the foot steps but he was sure that the other man was following him. After a slightly longer walk back to the corridor he had first found the problem, both of the men stood near the door.

The brown haired man moved away from the door, allowing the other to move closer to the door. Without waiting, he repeated the procedure to open the door, just as the brown haired man had done before. The second click however came quicker then before, almost instantly unlocking the final barrier that kept the door closed.

Pulling against the turned handle, the silver man swung open the door and peered inside, searching for the person they can capture. An almost inconceivable flicker of surprise lit up his eyes for a moment, before they returned to their emotionless state. After a few moments deliberation, the silver haired man turned to the brown haired man.

"Go and inform Orochimaru-sama of the error made, also inform him this matter needs his concern." He commanded, in a monotone voice, before turning back to the opened room and stepping inside.

The brown haired man instantly stiffened as the order from the other man was comprehended, but the order was not ignored. Without any words, the man began his walk away from the chamber, back the way he had came, again.

"Are you awake, boy?" he asked flatly as he moved closer to the prone body propped up against the wall opposite the door. For a moment all was silent. Until, the other person began to stir, slowly they raised their head up and met the other mans eyes.

Blue met green as the two sets of eyes stared at each other, one passively and the other hatefully. Silence filled the room as both sets of eyes stared unblinkingly at the other.

'_Why won't he blink?'_ Wondered the blue eyed one as his eyes began to water slightly.

At the sight of the slight sheen coating the prisoner's eyes the silver haired man's lips twitched upwards slightly, causing the blue eyed person to intensify their glare, only to relent moments later as the dry air continued to bite against the moist surface of their eyes.

Naruto's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he began to converge the two components of his Chakra. Flexing his right hand outwards, Naruto focused the energy into his right palm, intent on getting out of the room, one way or another. But something was wrong, every time the Chakra formed, it seemed to drain away. At first Naruto assumed it was his lack of focus, but the more he focused on it the more slipped away.

The silver haired man watched o in growing amusement as Naruto tried to summon his Chakra to him.

"I suggest you stop that soon, or else you may weaken considerably. This room was design so that when the energies of the physical body and the spiritual energy of the mind combine they are siphoned away in their Chakra form into the room." He explained.

Naruto glanced towards his right hand, and found to his surprise a visible stream of Chakra was flowing away from it into the ground. Lifting his hand upwards Naruto watched in fascination as the stream of Chakra broke into two and flowed towards the wall behind him also. As he stopped producing Chakra, the streams dwindled, and finally disappeared as the energies remained separate after that.

"What is your name?" the question came from the silver haired man.

The other person froze suddenly, sealing their mouth as tight as they were able to. The action brought a slightly larger twitch to the silver haired mans face as he observed the others reactions. Sooner rather then later he realised the futility of continuing to ask questions this way.

"My name is Kimimaro." He offered calmly as he eyed the blue haired boy expectantly.

He didn't have to wait long as the untrusting gaze which was on him turned unsure.

"Are you from Cloud?" he asked suspiciously, sliding his eyes over Kimimaro's form in search of any object which would give away his upbringings. The distrust returned quickly as a chuckle escaped from Kimimaro's lips, only to be dispelled.

"No, I am no longer directly associated with any of the Hidden villages."

In its place a glimmer of hope shone through.

"My name…is Naruto." He said unsurely at first.

"Can you help me get out of here?" Naruto asked, the hope in his voice equalling the amount in his eyes.

Another chuckle escaped Kimimaro's lips at Naruto's question.

"You are from leaf right?" he asked as he moved closer to Naruto, leaving a small space between them. Once again a chuckle escaped Kimimaro's lips as he looked at Naruto with an emotion akin to pity.

"My master, Orochimaru-sama has no love for ninja of Hidden leaf. Your time here will be the most excruciating thing you may ever have to endure; there is only a small chance you will survive." He explained slowly to Naruto, who as Kimimaro finished his words had paled considerably.

"Now, now, Kimimaro, don't scare my little guest."

Naruto's eyes switched over from Kimimaro's to the door.

Standing just inside the frame an unearthly pale man stood, from the back light dropped on him Naruto could make out the colour of his clothing, they were a cream colour, over laid with a dark brown. The most frightening thing to Naruto, was the mans eyes. Yellow serpentine eyes stared down at him, pulling out a sense of vulnerability from deep within his heart.

Naruto continued to stare into the Orochimaru's eyes, until suddenly the world blackened out, and he lost consciousness.

* * *

"Was that really necessary?" asked Kimimaro bemusedly.

At the question Orochimaru's face twisted into a superiority smirk, and he moved into the room, closer to Naruto. Kimimaro at Orochimaru's beckon moved from directly in front of Naruto to the side, allowing Orochimaru to take his former place.

"So this is the Kyuubi's container?" he murmured, as he reached to Naruto's face and brushed the three lines on his left cheek. Naruto flinched unconsciously as Orochimaru's fingers pressed against his cheek harder, noticing the aversion to physical contact, Orochimaru removed his finger from Naruto's cheek.

"He is shorter then I would have imagined." Mused Orochimaru as he took in Naruto's entire form. After a few moments, his eyes landed on the back or Naruto's right hand, what drew his attention in, was not the limb itself, but the thin layer of reddish crust atop of the hand.

"He killed someone using his own hands?" asked Orochimaru out loud as he reached towards Naruto's hand, and wiped a small amount of the substance off Naruto and brought it to his lips, flickering the tip of his tongue out onto the small amount of crust he had gathered.

'_He killed one of the Chuunin's despatched to retrieve the Hyuuga? From what I remember he is only twelve, If the times haven't changed since I attended, he just finished the standard Academy courses, Quite Impressive. Although it is highly likely they have trained him to direct the beasts' power.'_

"What will happen to him?" inquired Kimimaro calmly, as he stared down at Naruto's face. A frown appeared for a moment as he took note of Naruto's tense body, only to disappear as his eyes wandered to the back of Orochimaru's head.

"It has always been fabled, that the Kyuubi had astounding regenerating powers? No one was ever able to decipher if it was true or false."

A small sadistic smile took place upon Orochimaru's lips as he reached to Naruto's shirt, and lifted it up, revealing a faint glow upon his stomach, in the form of a spiral, surrounded by eight symbols, four on the top, and four on the bottom.

"You see this seal? From what I have read about it, it is only visible when the combined energies a body possesses are channelled outwards from the body. It is visible to us, because the room's purpose is drawing out any semblance of Chakra in his body. Although Konoha has the decomposed remains of Kyuubi to show its death, this proves that something remains of the fox. Now imagine, what could have failed the Kyuubi, to allow its body to be destroyed?"

To that point, Kimimaro had been silent through Orochimaru's obscure ramblings.

"It's soul." He answered simply, switching his gaze back to Naruto's prone form on the ground. To the answer, Orochimaru nodded a single time.

"The Kyuubi's soul is located in…Naruto-kun's body. It's regenerating power will also effect his body." Orochimaru concluded aloud to Kimimaro.

This time it was Kimimaro who nodded.

"You will use him for your more…physically taxing operations?" he questioned lightly.

Inside he knew what Orochimaru was going to do with the small boy. For Orochimaru there would be nothing less done. If Naruto was able to survive having his body torn apart and put back together, then Orochimaru would do just that. And if he couldn't, then Orochimaru would have no use for him. If that was the case, Naruto would die quickly, and not have to suffer through the tortures of Orochimaru's experiments.

"Will you place your seal on him?" he asked again, not waiting for his master to answer.

Slowly, Orochimaru turned around and faced Kimimaro, eyeing him curiously. It took Kimimaro more then a few seconds to realise his mistake, bowing down to Orochimaru he murmured an apology, to which Orochimaru simply nodded.

"To answer your first question, yes, there is a certain experiment I have been trying to complete, but sadly so far the specimens have failed to survive through the process. And those who have survived have been rendered comatose through brain damage. Naruto-kun may be able to survive the operation, due to the Kyuubi's regeneration abilities; they may also be able to heal the damage which may occur in his neutral pathways"

Through Orochimaru's answer Kimimaro felt an unknown feeling well up within his stomach, threatening to contaminate his body. Clenching his fist, he willed the feeling to disappear, and slowly it did, the feeling began to fade away into nothing, leaving Kimimaro waiting for his second answer.

"Although potentially beneficial to my cause, placing a cursed seal on him may prove to be as hazardous. It may react unnaturally against the Kyuubi. Instead of drawing out Naruto-kun's energy it may draw on the Kyuubi's. He would gain an unlimited source of power in this case, and the power may be enough to reduce the mental component of the seal to nothing, giving him the abilities without the restraint."

At that moment, two things occurred.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, instantly recognising the side of the person above him. _Orochimaru-sama_ as Kimimaro had called him. Instinctively Naruto pushed himself against the wall behind him, trying to move as far away as he could without being noticed.

'_Can I escape?'_ he thought analytically to himself, scanning the dark room around him for any sign of exit. Sadly the only way in or out of the room, it seemed was the door on the opposite side of the room, which was blocked by Orochimaru, and someone else.

In the middle of the door way stood a girl, she seemed to be a few years older then Naruto. Her hair was an interesting cross between red and pink. She was wearing an almost exact replica of Orochimaru's clothing.

"Who's the runt?" she grunted out as her eyes landed on Naruto's. Instantly Naruto's eyes widened, and Orochimaru and Kimimaro turned their attention to Naruto. Without wasting a moment Naruto pushed off the wall behind him and dodged to the left of Orochimaru, who realised Naruto was awake just in the same moment.

Orochimaru's hand lashed out towards Naruto, who scrambled to his left further to avoid it. Once out of Orochimaru's immediate reach he made a dash towards the door, which was only guarded by the red headed girl. Without thinking of the consequences Naruto lifted his hand upwards and aimed towards the girl's face, intent on palming her out of his way.

The moment his arm was within range, she reached out and grasped his wrist, twisting it behind his back. In an instant Naruto found the girl's from pressing against his back, his arm sandwiched between them both. Without warning a spike of pain flared in his arm as she continued to twist Naruto's arm. Grinding his teeth together Naruto fought against the girl's hand, but it amounted to no avail.

'_Why can't I break her grip? I must have wasted too much with trying to create...arg...'_

He couldn't stand the pain any longer, Naruto crumpled downwards onto his knees, feeling humiliated at being unable to over power a single girl. Suddenly, the pain lessened and Naruto let out a puff of air, only to inhale afterwards as the girl's hot breath reached his ear.

"Did you really think you could get past me boy?" she said curiously, increasing the pressure on his arm in the moments after she asked.

"Bite me." Naruto grunted out angrily as he strained his arm against her grip. Soon, he regretted his words as the girls teeth sunk into his ear lob. A strangled cry later and the pain began to fade as her teeth detached themselves from him.

"You…bit-"

Another stab of pain in his arm had him pause in his words

"Don't you Fuc-"the girl began angrily, before being cut off my Orochimaru.

"Tayuya, please refrain from verbally abusing Naruto-kun, physical abuse will do for now." He reprimanded offhandedly, causing Tayuya to blush slightly and nod her assent. Within seconds Tayuya was sadistically twisting Naruto's arm again. Only to frown moments later in annoyance as his arm refused to go any further.

With a deep breath, Naruto forced himself to ignore the increasing pain in his arm. Grimacing slightly, Naruto twisted his body against Tayuya's grip, a sickening pop echoed from his shoulder as the joint bent unnaturally, dislocating due to Naruto's movement against Tayuya.

A smirk found its place upon his face despite the pain threatening to overwhelm him from his shoulder. His eyes found their way to Tayuya's face; her eyes were slightly widened in surprise at Naruto's bid for freedom. Soon they returned to normal and a glare was issued to Naruto.

"Tayuya, you may…play with him later, if he survives having the **_Orochienjin_**." Orochimaru said exasperatedly.

Tayuya relented on her glare at the mention of the 'Orochienjin', and in its place a curious stared took place.

"You actually think he can survive THAT?" she asked shrewdly, switching her gaze from a pained Naruto to a bemused Orochimaru.

'_A final chance…'_ Naruto thought clearly to himself as he stared up at Tayuya's diverted eyes. With all the might in his lower body, Naruto swung his upper body towards Tayuya; his body caught hers underneath it. Despite being smaller then Tayuya, Naruto's momentum was more then enough to send the fiery red head tumbling backwards.

Without missing a beat, Naruto used his left hand to push himself up off Tayuya, at the same time as he glanced into her eyes and winked. Just like that, he was outside the room, and behind him two stoic men and a single shocked girl were only just getting their thoughts about them.

Naruto smiled to himself as he sped through the dimly lit corridor. It was followed by a grimace as a searing pain from his shoulder reminded him of his dislocated shoulder. Just as Naruto was preparing to pop it back into place, a burning sensation filled the joint, the feeling was not entirely unpleasant and seemed to only last a few moments. During the time the feeling grew in the joint a single pop rang out, and just like that the feeling vanished, leaving a dull throbbing in his previously dislocated shoulder.

As much as Naruto wanted to pay attention to the feeling in his shoulder, he could not. Already he could hear the sound of two people chasing up to him, and if the pounding of their feet was any indication, they were closer then Naruto wanted them to be. Just ahead Naruto saw a slight difference in the light paths, which meant one of two things. One, there was a door, or two there was another light source and he was about to run into a wall.

Without pausing, Naruto turned on his heel at the beginning of the light and made a sharp right turn. In front of him was a medium sized staircase, and up the top he could see the beginnings of a separate path. Half way up the stair case, the sounds of Tayuya and Kimimaro running after him became more pronounced as they reached the staircase.

"STOP RUNNING, RUNT!" screamed out Tayuya as she, behind Kimimaro quickly scaled the staircase.

Naruto quickly rounded the corner and manipulated his Chakra into a thin sheet over his entire body. Without missing a beat he kicked off the ground lightly and soared upwards towards the roof. As he neared it he pressed his right palm against the stones composing it and flipped over onto his back, allowing the Chakra sheet to 'suction' him to the roof and remove a small chance of him falling.

Just as Naruto pressed himself against the top of the corridor both Tayuya and Kimimaro burst out from the staircase and ran beneath him. A small breath of relief eased out of his mouth as Tayuya and Kimimaro did not look up and see his prone form. Just as Naruto was about to drop down and find his way to the complexes exit, another set of foot steps echoed out from the stairs.

From the stairway beneath Naruto Orochimaru walked out slowly, turning his head to the right, then the left seemingly searching for something. Finally he turned to the direction Kimimaro and Tayuya ran off to. In a few moments he was underneath Naruto, and he stopped.

Naruto's heart stopped in mid beat as he stared down at the top of Orochimaru's head. Painstakingly slow, Orochimaru tilted his head backwards, until his eyes were staring directly up into Naruto's. Upon Orochimaru's lips a sadistic smirk had found it's place perfectly.

Without warning, Orochimaru's mouth opened up widely and from out of its depths his tongue flew upwards directly at Naruto's head. Naruto did the only thing he could do; he released the Chakra sheet covering his body, leaving only a small amount on the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands.

Orochimaru's tongue stabbed into the wall directly where Naruto's neck would have been moments before, if he had not fallen forwards. His feet were still stuck on the ceiling, using the always awesome momentum; Naruto brought his hands up onto the ceiling, and used the Chakra sheet to keep them attached, just as he released his feet.

Naruto smirked; Orochimaru's tongue was moving towards him again, his only satisfaction came from the red end of the tongue, indicating that he had caused Orochimaru at least a small amount of pain in the process of escaping him. Mentally Naruto began to count down as Orochimaru's tongue came closer to him.

_**3**_

_**2**_

_**1**_

Naruto released the Chakra sheet on the palms of his hands. In an instant he was plummeting towards the floor, but as he had learned in the Hyuuga Training arena, he had already begun creating a cushion of Chakra beneath him, ton ensure he would not suffer any disabling injuries. However Naruto's plan was not meant to fulfil itself. A strong set of arms enveloped Naruto's body as he fell downwards, changing his direction of movements and carrying him towards Orochimaru.

'_Fu-'_

Naruto knew no more.

* * *

Naruto yawned slightly as the veil of sleep over him lifted. Quickly he decided it wasn't time to wake up yet and turned to his right, only to find he couldn't. His eyes slid open, and he was granted with a blinding white light shining down upon him. By reflex, Naruto tried to lift his right hand up to cover his eyes, however to his surprise, and horror, it was bound down to the surface he was laying on by a steel cuff.

He did not need to check to see if his other hand was bound also, he could feel the cold metal's surface resting against the side of his wrist. Slowly, Naruto's eyes adjusted to the glare of the light above him. Turning his head to the right, Naruto was not surprised to see one of the men from before, Orochimaru, standing next to a metallic tray.

Naruto's breath began to quicken as he imagined what kind of surgical tools were in front of Orochimaru. He had never been into surgery before, Civilian or Ninja, but he had a good idea of what sort of instruments they used when operating. A shiver racked Naruto's figure as he remembered one certain instrument from a medical scroll he had once come across in the Hyuuga complex.

'_**Scalpel**_'

Realising the futility of getting scared in his position, Naruto began to slow his breathing back down to its normal speed. The shuddered still racked his body, but his mind was cleared. He began to evaluate his options. It was highly unlikely that Orochimaru had not used the same enchantment on the table as he had in the cell, so Chakra was out of the question.

His limbs were bound down, and even if he could use them, a fist fight didn't seem the best way to over power someone with surgical tools at their ready disposal. His kunai pouch, from the lack of jingling when he moved his legs was also gone, leaving him with no way to escape. A sigh escaped Naruto's lips; he hadn't really expected an escape to come easy after he had been stopped by Tayuya the first time. She had easily overpowered him, circumstances or not. And by the look of things, both Orochimaru and Kimimaro were exponentially stronger than her.

It seemed Orochimaru was finished checking the steel tray. He reached down into the tray and collected a single instrument. As Orochimaru turned around, out of the corner of his eye, Naruto could see what was in his hand. At the end of a solid steel handle was a thin blade in the shape of a triangle. Fear struck again, and Naruto began to struggle against his bindings. A sadistic glint appeared in Orochimaru's eyes as he approached Naruto, bringing the instrument up to view for Naruto to see fully.

"I see you are awake, Naruto-kun. It would have been preferable if you had remained unconscious, but it isn't necessary as you will soon find out." He said softly as he brought the scalpels blade down onto Naruto's cheek, 'gently' dragging the tip downwards. Naruto hissed slightly as the blade sliced through his skin. Unknown to Naruto, the wound had already begun to heal.

Orochimaru watched on in fascination, as from the beginning of the wound, the skin slid back together, removing the wound from the surface, the small amount of blood around the sides of the wound were the only indication a wound had been there in the beginning. Morbidly, Orochimaru brought the scalpel up to Naruto's eye hovering it over for a moment before pressing down.

Naruto's eyes widened dramatically as Orochimaru brought the blade down upon him. Milliseconds before the blade touched the moist surface of his eye, a scream tore forth from his throat and with it a feeling from his abdomen. The same burning sensation that before had appeared when his shoulder 'relocated' itself spread out rabidly, bursting out from the pores of his skin.

Orochimaru's scalpel had just touched Naruto's eye as the sensation was released, a red spark appeared on the tip of the blade, and from it a ripple of translucent red blossomed out. Orochimaru realised what was happening, only moments before it occurred. The translucent red came back in full force, expanding outwards from Naruto's body and sending Orochimaru, and his scalpel clattering unceremoniously to the floor, meters away.

The sensation surrounding his body slowly faded away, leaving Naruto with a feeling of emptiness.

'W_-what was that?'_ he thought to himself shakily as he replayed the moment over and over again in his mind. The moment that the field had expanded, he had felt a sense of fulfilment from within his heart. Snarling, Orochimaru snapped his head to his right and spat out a slightly red glob of saliva onto the floor.

"So they did teach you to utilise Kyuubi's power." He hissed out angrily.

Confusion struck Naruto for a moment at Orochimaru's words.

"Kyuubi's power? What do you mean?" Naruto asked uncertainly as he turned his head towards Orochimaru.

To Naruto's question, Orochimaru simply stared confounded at Naruto. Slowly shudders began to wrack his form, until soon they became violent in their number, and he burst out in a mocking laugh.

"Tell me boy, what do you know about the Kyuubi's death?"

"The Yondaime Hokage gave his life to weaken the beast, inspired by his sacrifice the rest of the ninjas battling gave one final assault, to which the Kyuubi was slain by." Naruto recited off by memory, trying to buy any time he was able to. Despite his main reason, Naruto was intrigued; few details were given about the battle between the Yondaime and the Kyuubi. It was as if the details were not released, **_on purpose_**.

Orochimaru's laughter became more maniacal at the end of Naruto's explanation.

"Kyuubi's body and mind was destroyed, yes. But its soul was not. The fourth used the **_Shiki Fuujin _**something I doubt you have ever heard of. The technique involves sacrificing your soul to the Shinigami in order to seal away something else. Your Yondaime foolishly gave his soul to seal away the Kyuubi's spirit. But he did something else, which I was quite curious about."

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly.

Orochimaru smiled wickedly.

"Ah, you understand now, He the Kyuubi struggled against the seal, and the Yondaime did something which, itself surprised me. I doubt he even realised his accomplishment in his final moments. He separated the Kyuubi's soul from its mind. Leaving the beast alive, but without its primary energy, easy pickings for any shinobi who had any strength left."

As Orochimaru started to speak he began to rise from the ground. As soon as he was stable on his feet he reached down to the scalpel he had been holding before and once again took hold of the instrument.

Naruto was mulling over the information Orochimaru had presented to him. He knew in his heart of hearts what Orochimaru was hinting at, that he, Uzumaki Naruto held the Kyuubi's soul within him. As he thought back to the time before he went to the Hyuuga's for training he remembered the fearful stares he had received as he walked through the streets. All the civilians were afraid of him.

But then, Naruto remembered something else, the ninja in the village, none of them feared him or thought ill of him. Most of them he did not know the name of, but they knew of him. Was it because of the Kyuubi's soul? He wondered. Was the reason he was so well known within the village because of the fourth? It made sense Naruto reasoned. But then, another thought struck Naruto.

"How do you know about it?" he asked calmly, as he searched for something within himself.

"I was there; if Konoha was going to be destroyed I wanted to watch it happen with my own eyes." Orochimaru answered as he slowly moved closer to Naruto.

'_That's it…_' Naruto thought to himself excitedly as latched onto the sensation the familiarising sensation in his body, without waiting Naruto dragged the sensations out of his body, throwing the feelings towards Orochimaru with his mind, _willing_ the translucent red field to appear again. A small spark appeared for a moment, but then fizzled out. Naruto racked his brain for the key to releasing the field again.

His eyes widened. '_Fear._'

Naruto began to emulate the feelings of fear in his mind once again, imagining the various '_experiments'_ Orochimaru would do to him if he was unable to recreate the field again. With fear instilled in his mind, Naruto tried again, pushing with all his mental might at Orochimaru's form. A flash of red signalled the fields return, followed by a series of ripples at the places Orochimaru was touching the barrier between them both.

Instead of being thrown back, Orochimaru's body was simply halted from moving forwards. Experimentally, Orochimaru brought his hand up to the barrier and placed his open palm against the partially invisible wall between him and Naruto. From the point of contact, ripples flowed out just as it had done before.

"You have control over the Kyuubi's AT field?" Orochimaru asked half surprised.

'_It's called an AT field?'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"It does not matter." Orochimaru murmured softly.

From Orochimaru's hand a spark of yellow appeared amongst the red ripples, and slowly it expanded and covered Orochimaru's entire hand. Seemingly without resistance, Orochimaru's hand passed through Kyuubi's AT field stopping only once the yellow sparks of Orochimaru's own failed to cover any more of his body. He remained in the same position, concentrating on the spark's surrounding his body, until it slowly began to cover him again. Instead of stopping as it had done before, soon the sparks had bathed Orochimaru's entire form in a skin tight yellow field. Without any resistance at all, Orochimaru strolled through the edge of Naruto's last defence.

Naruto's emulated fear lost all falsities, the fear was now validated. He had no way to fight off Orochimaru. Not only that, but Orochimaru had moved out of his line of sight. Naturally, Naruto began to struggle against his bindings again as hard as he could. From Behind him he could hear Orochimaru clucking his tongue slightly, annoyed at Naruto's actions.

"**_Kanashibari no Jutsu_**" Orochimaru exclaimed and instantly, Naruto's limbs slackened, he had no control over his body, he could not move even a single one of his fingers. Orochimaru walked back into Naruto's now restricted view ith a sadistic smirk upon his face. As much as Naruto tried he could not cry out. As much as Naruto tried, he could not stop Orochimaru.

The scalpel plunged.

* * *

**There was more, but I got lazy.**

**Shunshin no Jutsu – _Body Flicker no Jutsu_**

**Gi-Kumogata yusouki – _False Cloud shape Transportation_**


	18. Her Mark, His Flight

**Sorry to everyone watching the story, I haven't been able to update in a while, not because I haven't had time to write, but because I have not been able to access the internet for a while, this is the first time I have been able to get onto Because of the lack of interaction with the outside world, My writing urges have dried up, I started on Chapter 19 last night but only was able to get up to 349 words before I couldn't write anymore. On abother note, Blame Fable: Lost Chapters, so far I have spent 27 hours playing and replaying, making both an awesomely evil character and an awesomely good one, anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

Silence reigned between the remainder of team seven as they made their way towards their home; Konoha. They had completed their mission, at the expense of a friend and a comrade. Currently, Kakashi was walking behind Hinata and Sasuke, for once without his nose in a book.

They had spent an entire month combing the forests near where Naruto had been abducted for clues, and had turned up with nothing. If Hinata had any input into the decision she would have remained behind and continued searching. But as usually, the majority won.

Both Kakashi and Sasuke, although they wished to continue searching had other obligations. The Mission needed to be completed. Sasuke would accept no less. Kakashi's motives were slightly different though.

Instead of brazenly charging off once again to search for Naruto and Kabuto, he had assumed the best and reasoned that they were captured. Captures ninja meant agreements between the capturers and the village of the captive's origin. Of course Kakashi knew neither of the remaining Genin would see it that way. Instead of telling them his reasons, he simply told them, that the mission came first at that point.

It had not gone over well with Hinata, who in retaliation quoted Kakashi.

"_Ninjas who don't follow the rules are called trash, but those who don't take care of their friends are worse then trash."_

The result was Kakashi not talking to her for an entire day.

Sasuke was brooding. In his mind; It was his fault that Naruto was captured. He had not beaten his enemy as quickly as possible; he had toyed around with them and given them a chance to get away. Naruto had suffered for his mistake.

Slowly Konoha's main gates grew in their view, until they were ten meters from the guards stationed at the sides. Their arrival sparks the interest of both of the guards, who as Team seven reached five meters, moved out to meet them.

"Where is your fourth member?" asked the guard from the right, his curiosity was mirrored by the Guard on the left, who stared expectantly at Kakashi.

"We…had some technical difficulties." Kakashi said after a moment, wording his response in a weird Former Anbu sort of way. Both of the Guards nodded sympathetically to Kakashi before stepping outwards and giving Kakashi a path between them.

"You have our condolences." The left guard said sincerely to the three other ninja. The right guard nodded towards Kakashi, giving him a sympathetic glance.

"He isn't dead…" mumbled Hinata reassuringly to herself. Next to her, Sasuke nodded and walked after Kakashi, who had already moved into the city. Not wanting to be the odd one out, Hinata quickened her pace and realigned herself with her team-mates walking behind Kakashi and beside Sasuke.

As they moved together towards the Hokage tower, Hinata looked around the streets. Everywhere she looked people were pointing towards them and whispering something to someone else. Hinata knew what they were whispering about; she didn't need to hear them. They were talking about Naruto, wondering where he was.

Hinata felt ashamed. Naruto in her mind had taken the hit that should have been hers. She knew why he did it. And that made it hurt all the more. Naruto first and foremost had been her friend. Ever since the first day of the Academy they had been friends, not close friends, but still friends. Over the two years he had spent with the Hyuuga that friendship had changed from casual to best. And along with that came the ideology that he had to protect her, which was reinforced as he was 'officially' a branch member of the Hyuuga.

In truth, all members of team seven felt responsible for Naruto's and Kabuto's capture. But at that point it didn't matter.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata spied the person she least wanted to see at that moment. Hanabi was standing to the side with her back facing Team Seven. Hinata slowly became anxious and moved to Sasukes right, nudging him into her place and taking his spot. Slightly less worried, Hinata continued on until.

"KAKASHI MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" boomed out from Hanabi's sensei, prompting both her and her team mates to turn around and face the street. Hinata putting on a brave face and slowly turned to face Hanabi. Hanabi's attention did not rest on her, her eyes were scanning them, searching for someone. Not just someone, _Naruto._

"Where is Naruto!" Gai exclaimed loudly as he searched as Hanabi had done for Naruto, albeit in an attention attracting way. If Tenten and Lee were not looking for Naruto, they now were, as the attention shifted from Kakashi to the nonexistent Naruto.

"…Technical difficulties." Was all that Kakashi said, before he turned away from Gai and began walking again. Soon, Sasuke followed, after giving both Gai and Lee a disturbed look each. Hinata however, remained standing in the same spot for a few more moments.

Her eyes were locked with Hanabi's, an understanding passed between them, and Hinata turned away.

"Gai-sensei! What did he mean?" Lee asked confusedly.

An answer did not come. Lee soon turned to Gai prepared to ask the question again. Silence struck him as he stared up into his role models eyes. In both his eyes, tears were gathering, without warning, Gai let out an extremely vocal wail and turned to Lee. Gai mumbled incoherently, causing Lee to himself, become teary eyed. Without further waiting, both wrapped their arms around each other and cried together. Tenten sighed softly at the antics of her Sensei and her team-mate.

"What did he mean Hanabi?" she asked softly, worry underlined her none, mirroring the uncertainness in her eyes.

"He meant, they lost Naruto-kun." She answered coldly. Silence met her answer as Tenten processed the information.

"Are you going to ask Hinata-san what happened?" Tenten asked after a few minutes, in which both Gai and Lee were still sobbing to each other. Her only answer was a single nod of Hanabi's head.

Down the road, team seven continued walking towards the Hokage tower, Hinata tilted her head down and stared at the ground as they continued walking.

'_Kakashi-sensei will tell them what happened and how I messed up, and I'll be demoted and I won't be able to find Naruto-kun..'_ she thought sadly as she glanced up just in time to see the doors in front of her. The doors swung inwards, and they were admitted. Soon they had crossed the lobby and were at the base of the stairs which lead up to the Hokages office.

"Everything will be fine." Kakashi said reassuringly to his team as they walked up the stairs. His confidence was not shared entirely by the younger Genin, who despite his words felt '_survivors'_ guilt. Soon they were at the Hokages doors. The receptionist with a single glance to Kakashi waved her hand towards the door, motioning for them to enter the office.

A few seconds later, they were in front of the Sandaime.

"Where are Naruto and Kabuto?" was his first question as his eyes, glanced to behind Kakashi, and found only two Genins.

"We…encountered some difficulties. A group of renegade nin posing as Cloud nin attempted to capture Hinata." He began slowly, before finding the right words for the next part.

"We all engaged a separate target. From the looks of things, there was one Jounin and Four Chuunin. At one point, Hinata took a direct hit to the temple and was stunned. Naruto interfered at the last moment as Hinata's opponent attempted to use a Technique on her. Earlier I had told Naruto not to kill his opponent; Naruto's opponent jumped above Hinata and Naruto and used the **Gi-Kumogata yusouki**. At this point Kabuto, who had already disabled his opponent, used his body to cover Hinata and Naruto. He was transported away by the attack."

The Sandaime nodded to Kakashi thoughtfully.

"Naruto…snapped, I think the word is. He used the same technique he used on me in the Bell test. Except…He tore the persons heart out." At that point, the Sandaime arched his right eyebrow and nodded once again." Sasukes opponent at that point used the act as a Diversion and moved behind Hinata, and then proceeded to use the **Gi-Kumogata yusouki **once again. This time Naruto took the attack for Hinata. I interrogated the last enemy at that point and then disposed of him."

"What happened to the enemy you were facing?" asked the Sandaime curiously. To his question, Kakashi shrugged lightly.

"I staked him to a tree with his own sword."

A sigh erupted from the Sandaimes mouth. He reached up to the sides of his head and began massaging them in a circular fashion; this was going to be hell to explain. Taking this as a message to continue, Kakashi did so.

"We then spent a month searching for their location with the help of the Byakugan. The search turned up nothing in that time, so I decided to forgo the search for then and complete the mission. Sir, may I please request a search party?"

"Request denied." the simple response from the Sandaime came. Those two words were met with disbelief from Kakashi, Hinata and Sasuke. Just as they were about to protest the immediate dismissal of the idea, The Sandaime elaborated.

"By the end of this month if Naruto and Kabuto have not returned, I will send an Anbu squad in search for them. But until then, you should have faith in Naruto."

Kakashi and Sasuke were slightly more assured by the Sandaimes words, Hinata wouldn't have voiced her opinion, but she wasn't as sure about the Sandaimes words.

"But Hokage-sama wou-" Hinata began, only to be silenced by a dismissive wave of the Sandaimes hand.

"You'll have to forgive me for this, but that is my final word."

Hinata nodded, defeated and hung her head morosely.

"Hinata, Sasuke please leave us." He said softly, motioning for them both to leave.

Once he was sure of them not being in hearing range he asked.

"What can you tell me about his style?"

* * *

Hinata walked silently towards the Hyuuga complex. She was afraid of what her family would think of her. She was afraid what they would say to her. But most of all, she was afraid of how disappointed in her they would be.

"Hinata-sama." rang out Hanabi's voice from the gate at the entrance to the Hyuuga grounds. Hinata's eyes were drawn back to Hanabi's. Her cold eyes stared back at Hinata, waiting. Unable to hold the eye contact any longer, Hinata tore her eyes away from Hanabi's and stared at the ground.

"We were attacked by Cloud impersonators." Hinata murmured softly. Hanabi tensed up at the mention of Cloud, only to ease up slightly afterwards. "They…were after the Byakugan, I think; Naruto-kun protected me from a technique they used." Hinata finished softly.

"I see." Hanabi's normally level voice was wavering.

"He is dead then?" Hinata's eyes snapped back to Hanabi's and she glared.

"No! He didn't die!" she almost yelled out.

Hanabi nodded slightly before turning away from Hinata.

"Then he did his duty." Was all she said, before walking away from Hinata, leaving her alone.

Hinata was angry, she was angry with Hanabi for saying Naruto died, she was angry with the cloud impersonators for taking Naruto. She was angry with herself for putting Naruto in that position. But worse of all, she was angry with Naruto for sacrificing himself for her.

Just as Hinata was about to pass through the gates, another voice spoke up.

"Hinata-sama, Naruto wouldn't have wanted you to feel bad." Guard said softly, smiling down at Hinata. Almost instantly he regretted it. Hinata turned emotionlessly to him and stared him in the eye. Guard felt unease as Hinata stared into his eyes. Despite what most people said, the Hyuuga's emotions were always shown in their eyes, if you knew what to look for. Right now Guard was staring into the eyes of an emotional reck.

"I..." Hinata spoke softly. "I don't know what Naruto would have wanted, he isn't here." Without waiting for Guard to response, Hinata turned away from him and walked past the gates. Guard simply watched on sadly, he had begun to get on well with the young Hyuuga after he unwillingly lent a hand in cleaning her room. The lost of Naruto was something he hadn't expected by any stretch of imagination.

A sigh escaped his lips, as soon as Hinata passed through the front doors of the complex, Guard left his post. He was going to get in a hell of a lot of trouble, but he had to talk to Hanabi. There were only two places Hanabi would be after hearing distressing news. The Training Arena, or the Super secret pond which only branch house members and Aigyou, but she was a special case.

Deciding that since he was outside, the pond would be the best place to search for Hanabi. He set off on a miraculous mini-adventure which won't be described in detail. Once he had passed through the trails of the many bushes, Guard's eyes fell on a Hanabi less pond. As most did, he took a small amount of time to admire the beauty of the surrounding area. Unlike the Hyuuga's gardens the pond had a natural beauty, it lacked the man-made aspect.

After shaking himself free of the nature induced awe, Guard turned his back on the pond and set off to the Training Arena. Once he had reached the back door to the complex, he utilised the sneaky sneak ways of the Hyuuga. If he was caught by a Main house member, either he would be sent back to Guarding, or he would have to endure a lecture, or worse, both at the same time.

As Guard approached the Training Arena, he could hear the soft thuds of flesh hitting cloth and wood. On the far right side of the room, Hanabi was practicing the Gentle fist against one of the many dummies lined up on the wall. From where he was standing, Guard could only see the corner of her eye, and it didn't do much to pacify him. Silently, Guard walked over to Hanabi, wincing every time she hit the dummy harder then required.

"What do you want?" she calmly asked as she struck her left palm against the dummies upper right thigh. Guard winced, and instinctively took a step back, before recomposing himself.

"He will be back." Guard said calmly as he watched Hanabi slam her left palm against the lower stomach of the dummy. Inside he was wincing for the piece of equipment.

"That doesn't change the fact Hinata-sama's incompetence caused him to be in the position." Hanabi said coldly as she turned away from the training dummy and faced Guard.

"He wouldn't be missing if she could save herself."

Guard frowned lightly at Hanabi's words.

"You know very well that Naruto would have done the same thing in any occasion." He said sagely, and reached up to stroke his chin, only to notice after his fingers passed over it, that he had earlier in the day shaved. Hanabi glared lightly at Guard for his comment, but she could find no reason to fault him for it.

"I need to enlighten my Team on Naruto's predicament; they asked me to once I learned of the situation." Hanabi said calmly as she began to walk away from Guard.

A soft chuckle left Guard's lips as he watched Hanabi exit the training area. The chuckle soon turned to a hacking cough as the voice of Kihatsusei **(The guy who got pranked by Naruto using the Lithium)** loudly called for him. He hated that guy.

* * *

Tenten sighed softly, around her for as far as she could see, weapons laid scattered on the ground. Bending down, she picked up the closest one to her; A shuriken. With a quick glance around her, another sigh escaped her lips, what she would not do for her team-mate Lee. An off the hand comment about collecting the weapons would make him stronger, and bam instant helping hand.

Normally, she would have just reigned herself to the chore, and started picking up weapons, zoning out and letting her mind wander to quicken the process. Today was different. With the small piece of information given to her and her team-mates by the 'Eternal rival' of their teacher, she had been unable to concentrate, and for the first time since she became a Genin; she had missed her target.

"Damn you Naruto…" she mumbled softly as she nicked her finger on the tip of the shuriken she was carrying.

"Don't damn him yet." The calm voice of Hanabi called out to her ears.

A small smile presented itself on Tenten's face as she turned around to face Hanabi. Not waiting for Tenten to ask, Hanabi launched into a quick explanation.

"Naruto was captured by a band of Missing Nin's, it is unknown if he is alive or not." She murmured softly before looking away from Tenten's eyes. Tenten remained silent for a few moments, processing the information, until a flash of realization swept through her mind.

"And if he returns?" she asked calmly.

Hanabi tensed slightly. She had reasoned Tenten would ask something similar, but the reality was lost to her until that moment.

"And if he returns, nothing will change." Hanabi murmured softly, before turning away from Tenten, and staring at the weapons surrounding them both.

"If you won't do anything I will!" Tenten snapped after a moment, glaring at the side of Hanabi's head, moments later, Hanabi turned back and their eyes met once again. In the place of the calm serenity which once covered Hanabi's eyes, an annoyed glare had formed.

"Don't you dare even think about it!" she hissed vehemently.

Tenten twitched gently, preparing to yell again, but on a second thought considered her options. Fight Hanabi for something she wasn't sure she could obtain. Or give Hanabi a date at which she would try and get what she wanted. She chose the second solution.

"You know what is coming up in a few months right?" Tenten asked diplomatically.

Hanabi took literally a moment to come up with the answer, she had been thinking about it ever since their sensei had mentioned it.

"Yes, how does it concern this dispute?" Hanabi's curiosity had been raised.

"You can have until the end of then, after that I get my chance." Tenten declared softly as she watched Hanabi's eyes for any sign of reaction, and she found one, Hanabi's eyes had taken on a thoughtful glint as she weighed up the pro's and con's of Tenten's offer. Unsurprisingly the con list was higher then the pro list. Instead of downright declining the offer, Hanabi chose the subtle action.

"There is no guarantee Naruto-kun will be back before then, after he returns, you are not allowed to move against him for an entire month. After that you may do as you please and I will not interfere." Hanabi said calmly, gauging Tenten's reaction as she outlined her preferred options. A satisfied smile made it's way onto Tenten's face after a moment of comprehending. Just as she was about to agree to Hanabi's proposal, Hanabi continued.

"But I will also not stop my advances, or cut my time allowed with him short." Tenten stiffened slightly as Hanabi finished, she should have expected something akin to Hanabi's final words, but she had dismissed the possibility after Hanabi had concluded for the first time.

"Agreed." Tenten murmured after considering Hanabi's **_modest_** proposition. A smile lit up on both the girl's faces as the problem passed. Back they were to two teenage girls, with the ability to kill people quicker then most people could blink. Hanabi glanced around the field for a second time.

Without waiting for the inevitable ask for assistance, Hanabi leaned down and began collecting the weapons around her. Instead of verbally expressing her gratitude, Tenten also began collecting the weapons around her.

"Where are Lee and Gai?" she asked, her voice returning to its calm disposition as she picked up a particularly long chain.

"Lee has…reached the 'Highest point of Fashion' and they are celebrating by increasing Lee's weights." Tenten said after recollecting Lee's statement before he, in a duplicate of their teacher's spandex training suit, raced off after the man himself.

The silence became apparent after a few minutes; both girls' were on separate sides of the field, collecting the scattered weapons. Even when they came together to put the weapons away silence still was evident. On the last run, Tenten had had enough.

"Things will never be the same between us, will they?"

A soft smile and a shake of Hanabi's head was the answer.

"Not unless…" Hanabi trailed off into silence as she dropped a ring of Kunai into Tenten's hand. A smirk appeared on Tenten's face as she took the ring from Hanabi.

"Fat chance."

* * *

Orochimaru sighed as he surveyed his pet project for the last two months. In front of him laid Uzumaki Naruto, in all his insipidness. His unclothed body laid exposed to the world on the same metal table that he had first been operated on by Orochimaru. Since then, nothing had changed except his hair; it was inevitably longer since the two months began.

Naruto's skin was unflawed despite the heavy experimentation and operations that it had been subject to. Despite all Orochimaru had used against it, no damage was retain, on the outside at least. Beneath Naruto's skin the various experiments had settled into their places and were passively working as they were meant to.

If an experiment had failed, it would simply be cut out of the body and the experiment would be repeated until the results pleased Orochimaru. Up until that very moment, he had been content with his indestructible test subject. But now, he was bored. Gone was the feverish desire to mutate the human body to it's fullest potential, and in it's place was a depression that wouldn't go away.

Sparring Naruto a mild glare, Orochimaru wondered to what extent his experiments yielded results. Naruto had yet to be removed from the table since Orochimaru had first been able to attach him to it; he had remained relatively inert, only moving when another Operation began. It annoyed Orochimaru o some extent, he was use to the blood flowing from a wound, and the terror instilled patients pleading for their lives.

Naruto did neither of those two things, and Orochimaru wanted to be rid of him.

"Kimimaro." He murmured softly as he switched his gaze from Naruto to the door. Although he wanted one of his Elite guard at that moment, he was to distressed to arise from his seat and seek the white headed man out. It was by only a coincidence **_(or by the power of a writer) _**that Kimimaro just so happened to pass by the operating room at that very moment, and heard his master call out his name.

"You called?" Kimimaro asked uncertainly, his voice however remained in its detached state, only just hinting to his clarity.

"Send Naruto-kun back to Konoha would you?" Orochimaru asked mopingly. Kimimaro frowned almost instantly, Naruto had become Orochimaru's most used 'play thing' he had even given up killing foreign ninja. Something he had turned into a hobby.

"Orochimaru-sama, are you sure? You should think such a decision over before finalising." He swayed tenderly, not wanting to displease his master.

Orochimaru feverishly shook his head from side to side, physically displaying his distain for Kimimaro's judgment.

"No, I have thought this through, this way we can go and check on Sasuke-kun and see how Naruto-kun has progressed with my ingenious designs." Orochimaru notified Kimimaro. A short nod was Kimimaro's acknowledgement of Orochimaru's plan.

"How will we transport him back to Konohagakure?" Kimimaro asked curiously, he had a vague idea of how Orochimaru would manage to get Naruto back into the village and make it seem as though the boy was uncompromised.

That was the major concern for most villages when a ninja who went missing on a mission returned unharmed. That their alliances had been swayed to an enemy village and they were a threat to the villages' security. It was a true fear, which made the villages take it all the more seriously.

"We need to reinsert Kabuto back into their ranks also. This will be killing three birds with one stone so to speak." Orochimaru mused. Near the door, Kimimaro nodded his assent; the path they would take was obvious to anyone who knew all the information. They needed to get rid of Naruto, they needed to get Kabuto back into Konohagakure, but there was one thing Kimimaro was in the dark about.

"What is the third thing?" Kimimaro asked after a moment.

Silence took root in the room as Orochimaru stared at Kimimaro for a few minutes before he answered in an unconventional way.

"I'm hungry."

Kimimaro fought against the urge to fall over in a distinctive anime style action. After all, they weren't in an anime.

* * *

Kabuto sighed for the second time that day. Things had started out perfectly, he had woken up on the right side of the bed for once, in other words it wasn't for an errand he had to run, no he woke up in his own time on his own incentive; Breakfast. He had enjoyed a bowl of Kunai crisps, the Villages answer's to 'Kunai Puffs' which came from the Gatou Company. Things had started to go down hill from there.

After his first bowl, he was accosted by Kimimaro with a mission from Orochimaru, which meant he'd get a reward, or he would be punished, the mission? He was to transport Uzumaki Naruto back to Konoha **_alone_**, and then reintegrate himself in the village. He did not want to lug a corpse for a month back to his former residence, but there he was, outside Uzumaki Naruto's room, about to go back to a life of mediocrity and exams.

Just as Kabuto's hand touched the door handle, a thought passed through his mind.

'_What will he look like?'_

Kabuto had not seen Naruto, or spoken about him since they both had fought the impostor cloud Ninja. Naruto hadn't been on his mind in the least. Kabuto had learned a single interesting fact in the time Orochimaru had been away from the boy.

Naruto was a demon carrier.

Naruto held the Kyuubi.

At first he had thought Orochimaru had been joking but it seemed if Naruto was still alive then he must be holding something powerful to keep him alive. But still, the physical and mental damage done to him by Orochimaru would be sever if he was not healed up afterwards, and from what Kabuto knew, he was the only medic Nin in the base that could heal both superficial and concealed wounds. A shudder racked Kabuto's form at the gruesome images of Orochimaru's previous works flashed past his minds eye.

Kabuto had had enough; the living corpse of Naruto was just beyond the door in front of him. He had, funnily enough gained some fond feelings for Naruto, although they were far from enough to influence his choices. He owed it to his one time student to at least look at his broken body before he undertook the mission.

With a flick of his wrist, Kabuto turned the door handle and pushed open the door, the sight that greeted him surprised him greatly. Naruto was lying on the ground, surrounded by nothing. A blush would have surfaced on Kabuto's cheeks if he had not seen worse from studying the human body, that and him growing up to be a fearsome killer.

Naruto laid on the ground, his skin tinted red from the various wounds which had once been upon his body. The colour was the only indication that Naruto had ever been wounded. A frown marred Kabuto's face as he walked forwards to Naruto and kneeled down. Although he tried to resist his medical background, the temptation as to great, within moments Kabuto was looking over Naruto's upper body for any sign of physical damage, and so far he had found none.

Reaching into the standard weapons pouch that every self respecting ninja carried, Kabuto withdrew a kunai from the folds of leather. Without pausing, he brought the blade of the weapon to Naruto's shoulder and made a small incision just before the joint, and to his unending surprise, the wound as he created it, repaired itself automatically.

A sigh escaped Kabuto's lips. Naruto was a scientists dream, as well as a Villages dream, a Ninja who wasn't slowed down from flesh wounds. A dozen of those and you would have yourself a squad which could take down a minor village in a night. Forcing himself to ignore the incessant pleads from his subconsciousness to determine how far Naruto's healing abilities went down Kabuto slid the weapon back into the leather pouch on his leg.

"Is the runt here?" someone grunted out from the door.

A chuckle flew from Kabuto's lips as he matched the voice with the person it belonged to.

"If you mean Naruto-kun, then yes. What do you want with him? We were just about to leave." As Kabuto turned around to face the other person, a smile formed upon his lips, only to falter at the lack of words coming from the other person.

"Tayuya?" he queried as he looked into her eyes, in an attempt tp get a reaction. Another chuckle took flight from his lips as he took note of Tayuya's line of vision. A moment later, her eyes moved to Kabuto's.

"I wanted to give him a present."

Kabuto blinked, Tayuya was the picture of innocence as she spoke seven words. A shrug later and Kabuto stepped aside, it mattered not what she gave to Naruto, unless it connected Orochimaru to Naruto's disappearance.

"You know how he doesn't get any scars?" Tayuya asked calmly as she reached into her own weapons pouch and withdrew a Kunai. Kabuto only nodded as he watched on, he reasoned any physical damage she gave Naruto would simply be erased by his body.

A second Later, Tayuya had pressed the tip of the blade into Naruto's right shoulder. What he saw next surprised Kabuto, slowly, Tayuya dragged the point of the Kunai away from her incision point, and the flesh remained open. The soft pink hue of Naruto's raw flesh soon darkened and hardened and a smoky vapour rose up.

Sniffing the air hesitantly, Kabuto wasn't surprised to it's smell.

"You cauterised the wound to keep the flesh from healing over?" Kabuto said surprised.

At first he didn't receive an answer; Tayuya continued to burn the scar into Naruto's arm. Soon the smell of burnt flesh was over powering in the room and Kabuto was about to cut short Tayuya's gift ceremony. It just so happened, that Tayuya finished the last delicate stroke of the scar.

Leaning back, Tayuya admired her work. **(Link to the design on the website)** Over her shoulder, Kabuto took his chance to inspect the design. It intrigued him, he had never seen anything quite like it, especially not from Tayuya.

"What does it say?" he asked curiously as he reached forwards and pressed his finger tip lightly against the beginning of the symbol, only for his hand to be swatted away a moment later by an angry Tayuya.

"Don't touch it!" she snapped as she stood up, forcing Kabuto to lean backwards or face the wrath of Tayuya's shoulder. Kabuto nodded lightly. Nothing was said for a few minutes as Kabuto waited for Tayuya to explain the symbol, sadly she was not going to. Instead her eyes were fixated on her work of art engraved in Naruto's flesh. As his patience finally vanished Kabuto repeated his question.

"What does it mean?" he tried again.

To his never ending joy Tayuya appeared to have heard him as she turned around. Her reaction and answer was not one Kabuto had wanted. Tayuya stared into Kabuto's eyes blankly for a moment before shrugging and casting her eyes to the side.

"It doesn't mean anything."

Kabuto twitched in annoyance at Tayuya's answer, almost missing the small mutter she gave afterwards.

"Except, his ass belongs to me now."

Kabuto blinked in mild surprise before deciding that Naruto's visiting hours had officially ended for the day.

"Time to go." He exclaimed in a monotone. Tayuya nodded lightly and walked away from Naruto, heading out the door and vanishing from Kabuto's immediate sight.

A sigh escaped Kabuto's lips as he turned back to Naruto, true to his word they were going to leave, but his eyes lingered on the mark Tayuya had carved into Naruto's previously unflawed skin. As he tore his eyes away from the red scar, Kabuto's eyes landed on Naruto's emotionless face.

It was time to go.

**

* * *

**

Kabuto wasn't very happy at all. For the past three weeks he had fallen into a very despairing routine. Wake up, Pick up Naruto, carry Naruto for a few miles, Take a break, get attacked by Bandits, beat bandits while protecting and carrying Naruto, travel for a couple miles, rest and then repeat five to eight a couple times per day.

Currently he was evading the axe strikes of an unexperienced troop of bandits, and was getting bored with the entire brawl. As Kabuto kicked off the ground to avoid an axe to his thigh, he lashed his legs outwards, catching two of the bandits in the chin and shattering their jaws. As his feet touched the ground, Kabuto kicked off once again, reusing the manoeuvre he had done only moments before to render two more Bandits unconscious.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kabuto spied a man wielding a hatchet, assuming the worse he could do, Kabuto dug his heel into the ground and drove his foot into yet another Bandit, kicking them out of the way as the Hatchet wielder hurled their weapon towards Kabuto. A smile laced itself through Kabuto's lips as he watched the projectile slice through the air towards his head. At the last moment, he tilted his head to the side, allowing the edge of the blade to pass through the space where his head had resided previously.

A dull thud resounded through the area as the hatchet's blade was driven into a solid object. Kabuto did not need to look, the sound of Metal meeting bone was an all to common thing for him to hear. The Bandit's however were stunned, one of their own had been killed…by one of their own! Using the distraction wisely, Kabuto applied a thick layer of Chakra to the bottom of his sandals and kicked off from the ground, sending his body flying upwards and away from the Bandits.

As Kabuto landed lightly on top of a tree branch, his stomach grumbled painfully. When he had been given the mission, it was decided by Orochimaru that he would neither have money, provisions or weapons. The reason had been that Konoha would be even more sceptic if they turned up in good health. Instead Kabuto had had to kill his own food, and fight the numerous bandits' with his body.

A series of curse words which would have made even Tayuya blush escaped Kabuto's lips as he glanced around the immediate area to find a safe place to drop Naruto's body and something to eat. A snarl escaped his lips as he found neither of the things in the clearing. Without a moment's pause, Kabuto bounded towards the nearest village he knew of at full speed, not caring if he attracted another band of Bandits, if he did, he would eat them. A dark chuckle escaped his lips as he tore up the forests floor on his way towards food and shelter.

* * *

'_Almost there.'_ Kabuto thought tiredly to himself as he trudged towards Konoha's gates. Darkness had fallen over Konoha and the night arrived.

It was almost over, after a month since the departure from Orochimaru, Kabuto and Naruto had arrived at their destination; Konoha. Less then seven hundred yards in front Konoha's gates stood proudly, Guarded by two of Konoha's ninja populace.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Kabuto's face as Naruto stirred on his shoulders, in the past week Naruto had been coming closer and closer to consciousness, sometimes coming as far as mumbling in his sleep. Kabuto had estimated by the time they had arrived at Konoha Naruto would finally be able to remain in the realm of the thinking.

Despite the close time of Naruto's awakening a single worry still plagued Kabuto's mind. Would Naruto's mind still be intact? That was the single most important question. Never had Orochimaru given his experiments any kind of relief for the pain or allowed them to be asleep. If Orochimaru had not done either of those, Naruto would have been awake to bear witness to his body's disfigurement. That was enough to make Kabuto shiver in revulsion.

Kabuto took another step forwards along the dark path forwards, only to grimace as his foot fell through the earth into a pothole. Holding back a series of illicit words, Kabuto yanked his foot out of the hole and steadied Naruto on his shoulders before continuing down the beaten path. The closer they got to the gates, the brighter the path became as the light from the villages torches illuminated the area.

A sudden commotion up ahead caught his attention; both of the guards had rushed out from their posts to each other, and were pointing towards him. Kabuto frowned slightly, he did not want to engage in combat with any of the Leaf nin right then, It would make it even harder to return to be reaccepted in the village. Luckily for him, both of the ninja seemed to have recognised him, or at least the bush of spiky yellow hair on his shoulder.

One of the ninja had started to run towards Kabuto, the other instead of following his companion began to move into the village and soon disappeared from sight, off to alert someone it seemed.

"Is that Uzumaki Naruto?" asked one of the Guards cautiously as he stopped in front of Kabuto.

The Guards eyes swept over Kabuto's body in a quick search to decipher whether he was an enemy or not. Kabuto inwardly smiled, Travelling for a month gave you the appearance of a vagabond, something which had great benefit when you were seeking shelter, or in his case trying to deceive an entire village of the events of the past few months.

"Don't worry, help will arrive soon." The Guard said pacifying.

Kabuto gave the man a shaky smile before allowing his body to buckle under Naruto's light weight. In truth his body was extremely worn out from the month of travelling. That and he could do with a good rest. Reasoning that now they were in Konoha hands Naruto and he would be in the village as soon as possible, Kabuto let the darkness meet his minds eye as he fell asleep.

* * *

The Guards eyes widened as Kabuto buckled forwards, in a split second he was in front of Kabuto holding onto the younger mans shoulders. A sigh escaped the man's lips as he shifted his feet to accommodate Kabuto's weight. A moment later, his plans changed, Naruto was sliding off Kabuto's shoulders. Considering the greater need, the Guard let Kabuto's body fall unceremoniously to the ground whilst he grasped Naruto by the shoulders.

The first thing he took notice of, was the tattered rags Naruto had been covered with, the fabric looked frail and as if it would tear at any time if one was not gentle with it. A small frown made it's way onto the man's face as he surveyed Naruto's visible skin. He had expected at least some superficial wounds considering the state Kabuto was in, assuming the best, the Guard reasoned that Kabuto had carried Naruto the entire way back to Konoha.

After his brief appraisal of Naruto's condition, his over all opinion of Naruto's silver haired saviour went up by a few points. In the distance the Guard could hear the pounding of feet against the ground. A frown appeared on his face as a team of three medical ninjas appeared by his sides, instantly on their knees to check over Kabuto's wounds.

At first he was going to reprimand them for their loud movements, but after a second thought, allowed them to do their job. The third medical personnel stared into his eyes as their lips moved. A moment later the Guard realised that the medic was talking to him, and decided to lend them an ear.

"For the last time, but the boy on the ground!" yelled the woman as she pointed to the ground.

A wince later, and the Guard had carefully placed Naruto on the ground facing upwards. A second later a slender hand was pressing against his chest, which prompted him to glance upwards into the eyes of the female medic he was 'following the orders of'. Seconds later, he realised that he was laying on his back, staring up at the almost starless sky.

Yet another frown formed on his face as he pushed himself off his back and sat up, staring at the female medic's face. The frown morphed into a smile as an idea appeared in his mind.

"Excuse me miss?" he ventured carefully, not wanting to invoke the medics' wrath yet again.

A sigh escaped the medic's lips as she stopped what she was ding and glanced up to the Guard with an annoyed glint dominating her eyes.

"What do you want?" she asked calmly, but the Guard knew better, she wanted to hit him.

Holding back the wince he took his chance.

"Want to go out for lunch tomorrow?"

The medic blinked owlishly as she processed the man's request. A single nod later and the woman turned back to her patient, returning to her brief examination.

After a few minutes a deep frown formed on the woman's lips as she mentally gave Naruto a clean bill of health.

"His body is in perfect health." She said aloud.

Upon the other side of Naruto, the Guard gave a small snort.

"Tell me something I don't know." He murmured under his breath, luckily for him, his voice was not heard.

"But something is wrong, no, not something everything…" she muttered as she lifted her hand to Naruto's shoulder and traced the crusty scar etched into his skin.

"Want dinner instead?" she asked as she turned her head towards the Guard. Surprised, the Guard could only not his affirmation, before asking why.

"I can't do anything for him, this is beyond me… Something was done to his body everything's different, but it isn't acting any different from a normal body…" she trailed off before turning to her colleagues and deciding the next course of action.

* * *

**One again, blame the lack of internet**


	19. Healthy doesn't mean alright

**Merry Christmas to all and to all a good read. Sadly this is only 5,000 words. But on that, which do you; the readers prefer? Longer chapter's weakishly or slightly shorter chapter'severy few days? **

**Again, sorry for the wait, but I didn't feel like writing this. But I got around to it eventually. And I haven't ranted in a while, so whoever is reading this. (I doubt most of the readers will, because they suck. But that's between you and me, because they haven't read this.) Why do people put a story on Alert and not review even once? **

**I can understand if you don't like a story at allyou'll save both yourself and the author the grieve of a flaming ball of criticism, But if you like a story enough to put it on alter, COME ON! I have over 150 people on alert for this story. How many reviews do I get per chapter? **

**Less then thirty, Know what that is? 1/5 of what it should be, stingy bastards. On another note- I know who has me on alert, I know all of you, and YOU CAN'T HIDE BEHIND THE ANONYMAS ON CHRISTMAS! MAWUHAUWHAUHWA! Thanks to whoever read that, and to those who didn't? Well they aren't worth mentioning. **

**Anyway, This is your Christmas present right on time, so do the right thing and give me one back, hint, hint. **

**Jon **

**P.S; Thanks to those who review by their own choice. The evidence of people reading the story and liking it makes it easier to write and keep interest.**

* * *

A sigh escaped Sarutobi's lips as he wondered which he should be, relived or worried. Minutes before Naruto had shown up on the shoulders of Kabuto. He had received a brief report on their health. Kabuto had been fine enough, slightly malnourished and a few superficial wounds. Naruto on the other hand, from what the report said was in perfect health, besides a few things, such as a mark engraved on his shoulder.

The thing that worried the Sandaime above all else was what the doctors had told him afterwards. Naruto's body was working perfectly, the remarkable thing, they told him, was that most of Naruto's muscles seemed to be fresh, when he had inquired about what they meant, he got a simple explanation.

"His muscles seem to be new, as if they had only recently been developed."

The information proved to be most confusing, the only way he had ever heard of a ninja regenerating their muscles completely was from one of his former students; Tsunade, and it took it's toll on her body by aging her dramatically. From what the doctors had reported, Naruto seemed to not match that sign at all. According to the doctors, by all reasons Naruto should be awake and aware, as it was he was neither of those, and the doctors were almost pulling their hair out trying to discover the reason.

A knock from the door pulled the Sandaime out of his musings.

"Hokage-sama?" Kakashi's voice called out from beyond the door. On pure reflex the Sandaime called out "Come in." before he realised who was at the door, the answer was obvious in the end. He had minutes before asked his secretary to send someone to fetch Kakashi from his apartment.

"What was so urgent you had to draw me away from my night time reading?" Kakashi joked lightly as he entered the room. Whatever intention he had of joking after that vanished as his eyes landed on the Sandaimes rigid body.

"Your student is back in the village." The Sandaime said calmly.

Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly at the statement. Thoughts rushed through his mind rabidly as he tried to find a reason for Naruto not being in the same room. Sadly no reason came to mind other then one, a reason which he had heard so many times before when a friend had returned to the village and he had not seen them.

Naruto was injured, to the extent that he had to be hospitalized. Kakashi deciphered. Missing Nin's had no limit to the tortures they could use; unlike a village were the most humane torture methods were only just tolerated by the civilian population. Idly Kakashi wondered if Konoha would benefit from splitting the military and civilian populations accordingly.

"How bad is it?" Kakashi asked slowly, unsure if he truly wanted to know the answer. Had it been Sasuke, he wouldn't have worried so much; he had not even known the kid for three months, Naruto on the other hand. He had known since early childhood.

"From what I can gather from the preliminary report, Naruto was only suffered a branding." murmured the Sandaime neutrally.

Kakashi's disposition brightened considerably, only to falter moments after.

"That isn't all." Kakashi stated.

It never was anything as simple as a branding, no one returned from enemy hands with only a branding. It was almost a rule; the smallest anyone ever got away with was a broken arm and some scars, But a simple branding? The Sandaime nodded slightly.

"There is something…not right with his body, it isn't unhealthy for him, His muscles seem to be newly grown."

'_That cou-You have got to be kidding.'_

"When the Kyuubi attacked all that time ago, No matter what we did to it while its soul was still in its body it kept regenerating." murmured Kakashi thoughtfully.

A small smile lit up on the Sandaimes face as Kakashi spoke. He really was a genius.

"That is one of the assumptions that I have come up with. Assuming that the healing factor extends to his entire body it is not hard to predict a scenario where all Naruto's body has been 'wounded', as a form of torture."

Kakashi's mind was racing at the possibilities; Naruto could have been torn apart, and still regenerated, as long as his head was connected to his body the torture methods wouldn't leave any lasting physical damage, Key word _Physical_. It was likely that Naruto's mind would have broken under the stress.

"But what about the brand on his shoulder? Wouldn't that have disappeared also?" Kakashi reasoned weakly, not wanting to believe one of his pupils was the subject for two months of torture.

"Kakashi, we will be heading to the Clinic in a few moments to get a detailed report on Naruto's condition." stated the Sandaime tiredly as he stood up from behind his desk.

Kakashi nodded once before slipping back into his nonchalant disposition.

And so they made their way to the Konoha hospital through the deserted streets. The only light was provided by the occasional house hold and lanterns, the moon wasn't out, it was hiding behind a thick blanket of clouds, just out of sight. As they got closer and closer to the hospital, the world seemed to grow bright, as the rays of light from the open building streamed out through the windows.

As they neared the main entrance, the sounds of people rushing around became louder and louder. The doors were open, and through them both Kakashi and the Sandaime could see people rushing around, scrolls locked in their hands. It seemed to be a state of emergency.

"Where is the scroll on Kidneys!" shouted a distress female medic.

Kakashi blinked confusedly, before passing the subject off as an elder whose kidneys had failed them.

"Which room is Uzumaki Naruto in?" The Sandaime asked the clerk at the front desk.

The man looked up hesitantly from the scroll he was reading; Kakashi could see the title barely. '**Organ enhancements and their causes.**' A wince later and he wished he didn't. The only person he could assume it was needed for was Naruto. Adding it the fact Naruto was in the Hospital at the same time, and a sense of foreboding entered his mind.

"A-ah Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto is resting in the observation room of the unique ward you'll also find the detailed analyse in the same room." He rushed out, before turning his attention back to the scroll in his hands.

A single nod was sent to the studious man from the Sandaime, before he motioned to Kakashi to follow him. As they both left they took note that almost everyone in the lobby was reading a scroll to do with the organs in the human body.

To a normal person, it would seem the Sandaime and Kakashi were wandering aimlessly in the halls, unsure of where to go, But they knew where they were going, unlike Non-military hospitals, the Konoha hospital was broken up into two parts, as anyone could guess, they were the Civilian and Military sections.

The Military section was build to deal with physical wounds, while the Civilian section was made for common problems.

After a few minutes, the Sandaime and Kakashi came to a door, marked with a distinct yellow sign. '**_OFF LIMITS TO NON-MILITARY_**' without even taking a note of the sign, the Sandaime pushed open the door and entered Kakashi right behind him.

Beyond the door a single corridor lined with various doors, inscribed with such things as; '**_Physiological' 'Shattered limbs' 'Removed organs' 'Unknown' and 'Unique'_**. On the last door, Sandaime entered; beyond _that_ door was a plain room with two doors. One was solid wood, with the writing '_examination_' engraved on the surface. The other door was entirely different, instead of wood the door was transparent, and beyond it laid Naruto, naked on top of a waist high metal table.

From where he was, Kakashi could see a crusted mark engraved on Naruto's shoulder. The Sandaimes words from before echoed through his ears as he started at the brand, burned into Naruto's flesh. Without waiting any longer the necessary, Kakashi pushed open the translucent door and walked over to Naruto's body. His eyes remained on the brand mark upon Naruto's shoulder, he was intrigued by the design and also the way it was created.

Instead of the traditional slave or traitor brands, the lines of the mark were thin, and pushed in. _Cut_ in, he realised after a brief touch upon one of the dark red lines. After a moment, he voiced his thoughts, and waited for word from the Sandaime, but alas his words fell on ignorant ears.

Turning around at the lack of response, Kakashi's eyes set upon the sight of the Sandaime looking over a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard. Remaining silent, Kakashi waited for the Sandaime to finish scanning the text on the sheet and his thoughts.

He didn't have to wait long.

"This sounds remarkably similar to the human experiments Orochimaru was doing before he left." murmured the Sandaime unconsciously as he scanned over the diagnosis list for a second time.

Kakashi had to strain his ears slightly to hear the words which escaped the Sandaimes mouth. But he caught them, and they alarmed him.

"Hokage-sama, you don't think!" he exclaimed worried.

"Listen to this;

'Subject_ shows sign of intensive surgery. The major organs in his body have been altered significantly, An example of this, from what we have seen in the hours he has been under examination, his liver and Kidney's are working over time, all his organs are, the processes which they normally go through have been super charged for lack of a better word._

_This phenomenon seems to be linked to the recently developed muscles the subject has all over his body. From what we can observe, the tongue is the only muscle which has not been regrown.'_

It seems you were right, Kakashi, the Kyuubi's healing factor has made him immune to minor wounds."

Kakashi's mouth hung afar for a moment.

"Minor wounds! Hokage-sama, he has had his entire body rearranged!" Kakashi exclaimed loudly, causing the Sandaime to shoot him an annoyed look, mixed with a look of surprise.

"I hadn't told you that his organs have been rearranged." The Sandaime murmured thoughtfully.

Kakashi's stomach felt like it was about to exhume its contents. Despite the countless men he had killed, and bloodbaths he had been involved in, experimentation on humans still sickened him to a large extent. Adding to the fact he was fond of his student, and he was largely sickened by the situation.

"You're joking." Kakashi stated surely as the feelings in his stomach faded away.

"Not entirely. While they have not been rearranged, his organs have been moved slightly and have fit properly."

The Sandaime paused for a moment and placed the clipboard down where it had previously rested. He rested his hand atop of the sheet of paper detailing Naruto's condition. The Doctors had written down the reason why Naruto was still unconscious as well.

"Why isn't he awake then?" Kakashi demanded to know.

The Sandaime sighed softly as he turned to Kakashi.

"Naruto's psychological health is what the problem is. If my assumption is correct, and what they have written down, His mind was overloaded with pain, it is highly likely that he has lost his sanity. From what the report said, the chemical processes in his brain were over loaded. While they have healed the damage, Naruto's mind is still in shock."

Kakashi nodded morosely, he felt sick, the reality of his student's condition was painfully obvious to him now. He had failed his student; he had failed to protect Naruto on his first real mission. While He was playing around with the Jounin, Naruto and Kabuto were protecting there team-mates. Kabuto, a name he had almost forgotten.

"Hokage-sama, did Yakushi Kabuto return also? Were his wounds as dire?" Kakashi asked, hoping for all he was worth that Kabuto at least survived. The reward for his words was a weak smile from the leader of Hidden Leaf.

"Yakushi-san is in decent health, unlike Naruto his medical needs were only for Malnutrition and exhaustion."

With one assurance making him feel slightly better, Kakashi went for a second.

"They will be able to heal Naruto's mind right?"

The Sandaime shifted his weight slightly as he observed Kakashi, who throughout the stare remained resilient.

"There is an experimental technique which may return Naruto to the way he was before." The Sandaime began, but was quickly stopped as Kakashi interrupted.

"Then have them, use it." Kakashi demanded harshly.

The Sandaime at the tone of Kakashi's voice arched his left eyebrow before responding.

"I will be going to the Hyuuga residence in a few minutes. Hyuuga Hiashi is by word of law and contract Naruto's legal Guardian." Since Naruto is unable to agree or disagree in his current state, Hiashi will decide."

Kakashi scowled for a moment, almost unnoticeably. But in the end nodded and slipped back into his apathetic disposition as he and the Sandaime left Naruto's temporary room. But not before sparring the blonde haired boy one last glance.

Half an hour later, both the Sandaime and Kakashi were sitting in the lobby of the Hyuuga complex, waiting for Hiashi to meet them. Hiashi may have been quicker, but the reason for the request of Hiashi's presence was not given.

The creek of floorboards signalled the approach of someone, and soon a tired Hiashi entered the room, still in his sleeping clothes. Respectfully, both Kakashi and Sandaime stood up as Hiashi entered the room, greeting his fellow shinobi. With the pleasantries out of the way, Hiashi went straight to business.

"Assuming your presence here Kakashi is required, and that you have woken me up at such an hour, It is not unreasonable for me to assume this matter involves Naruto?" the tone of Hiashi's voice disagreed with the words escaping his mouth, as if he did not care about the reason they were disturbing him for.

"You are most correct." stated the Sandaime clearly.

Now they had his full attention.

"Yakushi Kabuto returned to the village earlier tonight with Naruto." explained the Sandaime.

"What were his injuries?" Hiashi demanded to know.

The Sandaime would have worn a bemused smile, if he was in a different mood. Hiashi as always was quick on the take up, when he was on the field he was a prized shinobi, he remembered the results of two months in enemy hands.

"Physically besides a few abnormalities Naruto is in perfect health." stated the Sandaime diplomatically.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. _Physically_ held a high significance when talking about shinobi who fell into enemy hands, it dictated how their body was while leaving out an equally important piece of information.

"And mentally?" Hiashi asked in a low voice.

"Naruto has been classified as Insane." Kakashi murmured softly.

A few rooms away, the sound of glass shattering echoed through the silent house. At the sound, both Kakashi and the Sandaime were surprised to see Hiashi silently activate his Byakugan, and also to see him dispel it seconds later.

"Hanabi, please enter the room." He said clearly.

Both the Sandaime and Kakashi turned their heads towards the entrance which Hiashi passed through, expecting to see Gai's student pass through the doorway. To their annoyance, she did not, until two minutes later.

Hanabi entered the room silently; she was wearing a simple black nightgown, highly contrasting to Hiashi's white shirt and pants. Keeping her silence, she stopped a meter away from Hiashi, staring him directly in the eye.

"You called, Hiashi-sama?" she asked coldly.

No one was surprised by the lack of warmth in her voice.

"I was not aware that you could lip read." Hiashi stated calmly, not passing his voice over the threshold of neutrality.

For a moment, Hanabi tensed, before relaxing.

"Forgive me, Hiashi-sama, I picked up the skill to add an advantage to scouting missions in the future." Hanabi explained calmly, gone was the ice layering her voice.

With that, Hiashi turned back to the Sandaime and studied him for a moment.

"What is the procedure which will remedy the problem?"

Kakashi had to admit, with minimal details, Hiashi was quite impressive when it came to picking apart a few sentences to give him a detailed picture.

"It is entirely experimental; it has not even been properly tested before. _Kokoro Riwaindo no Jutsu_."

Both Kakashi's and Hanabi's left eye twitched at the name.

"Mind Rewind technique?" she murmured in distain. Only to silence at a brief glance from Hiashi.

"What will its effects be?" Hiashi asked calmly.

"Naruto's mind will be reset to a certain time. If we can manage it, it will be just as he is captured" informed the Sandaime.

"If that's all it did, you wouldn't have come to ask for permission." stated Hanabi neutrally.

It seemed the tone she chose was the right one, Hiashi did not send her a warning glance, or any form of disapprove. The Sandaime on the other hand, sent her an approving smile.

"That is quite correct. The technique will remove the events from Naruto's conscious and lock them away in his mind. The fault with the technique is, the events are not perfectly sealed away. If anything heavily relating to the memories confronts Naruto it may cause total recall. And has a chance of causing his brain to for lack of a better word, fry."

Silence reigned in the room between the shinobi. Kakashi was not entirely surprised with the fault of the technique. Anything dealing with the mind had to be done with great care, and even then there was a chance for failure. Genjutsu worked in a similar way; even if it is successful it has a chance of breaking.

Both Hiashi and Hanabi were taking the news silently, mulling it over in their minds.

"Hanabi, what would your decision be?" Hiashi asked suddenly, stunning Hanabi for a moment before she gave her answer.

"My decision would be based on my knowledge of Naruto's personality, so it would coincide with the choice Naruto would be most likely to make." stated Hanabi clearly.

"And that would be?" Hiashi asked after a few seconds of silence, slightly annoyed at Hanabi's lack of direct response.

A smile tugged at the corner of Hanabi's lips.

"In the words of Naruto himself: Bring it on."

--

Hanabi stood outside Hinata's bedroom, battling with her conscious which was telling her to deliver the news of Naruto. Seven hours prior, Kakashi had asked her to inform Hinata of Naruto's return, and some other details. Sadly Hanabi had woken up two hours later then she expected she would, with the news of Naruto's return on her mind, and the condition he was in, thoughts were something she was not lacking.

'_Naruto would not be entirely happy with me if I kept his location and condition secret from his team mate.'_

And with that, Hanabi finally came to a decision. Raising her hand up to Hinata's door, she knocked three times gently, upon the wooden frame.

From inside the room a soft thud followed by an almost indistinguishable yelp was heard, silence followed soon afterwards. And then without warning, Hinata's door swung open, and a very flushed Hinata appeared. At the sight of Hanabi, Hinata opened her mouth, about to ask a question.

Hanabi raised her hand upwards and pressed her index finger to Hinata's lips.

"Do not talk, simply listen." She said calmly.

Hinata blinked a single time, before nodding.

"Naruto has returned. He is-"Hinata's eyes widened slightly and her mouth opened again"I told you to not talk!" Hanabi snapped at Hinata, who once again flushed, whilst scowling lightly.

"Last night Naruto returned to the village. At five o'clock this morning he went into an operation to repair the _damage_ done to his _mind_. That was two hours ago, if the _operation_ was a success then Naruto has _regained_ his _sanity_. If not Then he will be _insane_. Ah, a reminder, if Naruto is sane, do not speak of the time after he was _captured_ or it will bring back his memories of the events and may cause his brain to _self-destruct_. He will not remember the events after the point in which he was _captured_; I would like it very much if you could share this information with your other team-mate." Hanabi spoke softly as she informed Hinata of the current situation.

At certain points during the time she spoke, Hanabi put emphasis on nine words. Each time Hinata winced. By the end of it, Hinata was close to tears as Hanabi turned away. Despite the animosity between her and the main house, she felt slightly guilty about treating Hinata in a less then humane way.

"I will be leaving to go and check on Naruto in five minutes. You are welcome to join me." Hanabi said softly, waiting until the last word to begin to walk away. She did not expect Hinata to accept, far from it, she expected Hinata to flat out tell her to leave her alone.

"I-I would like that, Thank you." Hinata murmured after a moment of surprise.

Hinata slid the door closed as she got ready to go to the hospital with Hanabi to see if Naruto was sane again. Hinata took a deep breath as her mind raced through the reasons Naruto would not be sane. Every plausible reason she came upon brought a whimper from her lips, and more then a few tears.

By the time Hinata was ready, her cheeks were damp, but her eyes were still clear, no sign of the redness that came with proper crying. Setting out of her room, Hinata set her eyes on Hanabi, who was dressed differently then usual.

Instead of the usual solid cream outfit Hanabi usually sported during the day. She now wore a black shirt, held together at the waste by a white sash. The sleeves stopped at her elbows, allowing her to move them freely as she was unconsciously demonstrating by scratching the back of her neck.

Her pants seemed to be made out of the same material as her shirt; they were black also and covered her legs down to her ankles, where they stopped just above. On her feet, her normal ninja sandals were strapped on. It made Hinata smile to see Hanabi wearing the same footwear as she wore to missions and during training. Only to make her frown straight afterwards; Hanabi was always prepared for the worst. There was no doubting she had the standard weapons with her also.

"Let's go." Hanabi said as soon as her eyes landed on Hinata.

A quick nod from Hinata, and they were off, towards The Konoha Hospital. As they continued to walk they remained silent, content with the knowledge that if all went well, they would be able to speak to Naruto for the first time in other two months.

"Why do you want to see Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata suddenly as they turned a corner.

Despite the question posed to her, Hanabi continued to walk in silence, only answering a minute later.

"Is it wrong to want to see a friend?" she asked casually.

The response caught Hinata off guard momentarily and afterwards made her think, although she thought of herself as Naruto's friend. She constantly had to remind herself, that although she had met Naruto first, Hanabi had spent more time with him. The thought depressed her a little. But the depression was soon resolved as she vowed to spend as much time with Naruto as she possibly could, and nothing would stop her.

A blush encompassed her face as her mind created scenario in her mind; Both she and Naruto were in the showers' he was naked, when he asked her why she was there, she simply replied I want to spend as much time with you as possible. Her thoughts almost caused her to lose focus and trip over, but luckily her 'natural grace' (Shinobi training) allowed her to keep on her feet.

But it seemed that her mistake was noted, as a small chuckle escaped Hanabi's lips. In retaliation, Hinata stuck her tongue out at Hanabi, causing yet another chuckle to escape from her cousin. Suddenly, Hanabi tensed as her eyes caught sight of a building on the left side of the street. She glanced upwards to the second story of the building, relaxing as she noticed that the windows were closed.

'_Tenten's still asleep, a good omen.'_ she thought loftily as she continued to walk past the building, with a blank look upon her face. Next to her, Hinata took little notice of the abrupt change in Hanabi's disposition. One moment she was chuckling, the next neutral as she could be.

In a few moments she would find out why.

"Hanabi-Chan?" murmured a sleepy voice from next to Hanabi.

She recognised the voice instantly, holding back a scowl she turned towards the source, and inclined her head slightly.

"Tenten-Chan." She greeted Tenten casually.

A look of surprise appeared on Tenten's face as she realised what Hanabi was wearing, or rather, what she wasn't wearing, that being her training clothes.

"What's the special occasion?" she asked, now wide awake.

She had never known Hanabi to wear anything but basic clothes for training or fighting. And yet there she was, wearing Non-combat orientated clothing that looked _good_ and wasn't entirely practical.

"Naruto-kun." Tenten breathed out softly.

A scowl from Hanabi in her direction confirmed Tenten's suspicions, a girlish scream of delight later and Tenten disappeared from immediate sight. A series of crashes and slamming doors later, and Tenten was stepping out of her door again, buttoning the top of a casual looking dark blue shirt, with a flowery pattern upon the right side.

"Let's go!" she exclaimed happily, causing Hanabi's scowl to deepen, before vanishing entirely, In it's place an almost entirely innocent smile was upon Hanabi's lips, putting Tenten off Guard, that is-until Hanabi spoke.

"I have twenty nine days until you may make your move." She said happily, before turning away from Tenten and beginning to walk towards the hospital again. If either Hanabi or Hinata had kept their eyes on Tenten, they would have noticed the flash of annoyance which passed through her eyes, and the slight scowl which appeared on her visage before disappearing and being replaced with a casual smile.

As it was, Hinata's eyes were on the back of Hanabi's head. She was wondering what her cousin had meant, and more importantly, did it have anything to do with Naruto. Soon the worry left her, vanishing entirely, and in its place a vast sea of dread took root.

Not even ten meters away, Yamanaka Ino was tending to a bouquet of flowers outside her families store. It seemed that fate was destined to detour her journey to Naruto's bedridden side as much as divinely possible as Ino, just out of the corner of her eye caught sight of the group of girl's walking down the street silently.

"Hey Hinata!" Ino called out, waving her left hand casually at her former classmate, and fellow Genin. With reckless abandon, Ino dropped the flower she held in her other hand on top of the table she was setting up, and ran to Hinata's side. Earning a twin glare from both Hanabi and Tenten, luckily for Ino, her attention was focused entirely on the slightly less annoyed Hinata.

"Hinata, next time you see your bastard of a team-mate Naruto, tell him to take some time to come see me yeah? I have a bone to pick him." Ino asked politely. Unaware that she had just earned the anger of the three Genin near her.

"Would you care to repeat that?" Hanabi asked icily as she glared at the side of Ino's head.

Ino, prompted by the less then friendly request turned her head to face Hanabi, and was almost paralysed with fear from the murderous intent Hanabi as radiating at her. After stumbling over her words for a few seconds, Ino regain her composure.

"I...I sai-"she began, only to be cut off by the softly spoken Hinata.

"Naruto has been missing in action for the past two months." Hinata informed Ino quietly, praying to whoever would listen that she would keep her mouth shut and not earn the wrath of her cousin, and from the looks of it her team-mate Tenten too.

Ino for lack of a better word looked devastated, and abruptly collapsed onto her knees, staring at Hinata's legs desolately.

"It's a bad joke." she whispered weakly, straining against all her might not to fall forwards on the ground in an almost catatonic state.

"…He returned last night." Hanabi spoke softly after a few moments.

'_This girl is the one that took Naruto's time up on the Saturday before he left…Ino…is her name, I'm sure of it. She seems to have not known of Naruto's disappearance, was it kept secret?'_

After a few moments of deep thought, Hanabi glanced around the group of Genin only to find that they were all looking at her in shock.

"What?" she snapped coldly before turning back to the road and continuing to walk towards the Hospital.

"I can be nice to." She mumbled softly as she stared at the top of the hospital in the not so far distance. She did not have to strain her ears to hear the pounding of feet against the slightly damp ground. Although her face was almost entirely blank, her lips twitched at the thought of the two of the three girls behind her.

'_What does Naruto mean to them?'_

The rest of the adventure passed in relative silence, only occasionally a murmur of conversation behind her caught Hanabi's attention, but it did not concern her, the only thing which concerned her were Hinata's safety and Naruto's health. The rest of the world could be damned.

'_Except Guard-san, he is amusing.'_ Hanabi concluded after a moment of thought.

Hanabi blinked, In front of her was the clerks desk for the hospital, it occurred to her that she had been so deep in her thoughts that she had not realised that she had crossed the threshold of the hospital. She pledged to herself then that she would not lose herself in thought while travelling; it could become a problem in some situations.

"We are here to see Uzumaki Naruto." stated Hanabi calmly as the man's eyes fell on her.

"I'm sorry Hyuuga-san but he is currently under medical surveillance." Explained the clerk empathetically.

Sadly, it was Hanabi he was talking to, and she did not take no as an answer from common shinobi and civilians. A single time, her ivory eyes flashed in anger before narrowing.

"Would you care to repeat that?" she asked in the same calm voice as before, sadly for the man he did not notice the slight change in the way she held herself, or the annoyance in her eyes.

Enough to say, he was almost in tearswhen she was through with him.

* * *

**Will they see Naruto? Is he sane? Did the Technique Fail? How will the Genin react to him? What did Orochimaru's experiment do to his body? Who will accidentally reveal Naruto's memories? When will it happen? Where is Kabuto? Do I have to type these questions out? Find out in the next chapter!...Or not.**


	20. Refusal to Disappoint

**Imust admit, it never realised how well emotional blackmail worked when trying to accumulate reviews, but fear not! This author shall not prey upon your innate human fears to force you to review this piteous story! I feel I must apologise for the last two chapter's being shorter then 6000 words. This chapter alone is only nine pages. All in all the entire story is around 152 A4 Pages, so that's awesome.**

**I'm curious as to why most author's when writing a story about Naruto going back in time make it a point to tell everyone that he has to relearn his Chakra control. I may be wrong but Chakra control is all about the mind, not the body. In my view it's like riding a bike, or swimming, once you learn how to do it, you don't have to learn to do it ever again. Even if your body is not used to it.**

**God, I had to edit this three times I forgot so much, A question to all learned readers; How does Kyuubi have 'Chakra' From the beginning of the series it was stated that Chakra had two base components, Spiritual gathered from the mind/experiences and PHYSICAL energy drawn from the BODY. Something is a Miss Yah?**

**Theory: To compensate for the lack of physical energy and abundance of spiritual energy Naruto's body blah blah blah. I'm not really sure. I hate the idea of Kyuubi directly influencing Naruto's body with its own ideals. So let's just say his body naturally adapted and thus he has a huge appetite.**

**According to one reviewer my humour is dragging the story down a bit, after a bit of relay PMing I got a link to an author which he reviewed as funny. Unamazingly enough I enjoyed the stories as well. He also brought up the point that I should use my own humour more often. Which I may or may not do.**

**I'm going to write another of the Bad Luck Chapter's I can do it in a day and it gets rid of the aftertaste this chapter left in my mouth. For you see, when I stop in the middle of a scene I lose interest in it, and that happened a bit in this scene, as I am sure some of you will notice.**

**ALSO! NOTICE! This story has a Forum in my Profile, so yeah. Just thought I'd tell you before it gets raped by a very bad looking houseboat. It's there for a reason, and that reason it to talk about the story and debate with me about my theories of the Narutoverse.**

Correction, yet again, this is the fourth edit. I owe this one to Teh Fabulous Yo who pointed out all the errors I made.

**Anyway, enjoy,**

**Jon**

* * *

Hanabi let out a sigh as she reached over the counter and took hold the patient roster. For a moment, she stared at the hospital clerk-come-nervous wreck. She could not fathom why the man refused to give her Naruto's location; exams could be done even with extraneous people in the examination room. She had learned that much from Hinata's mother, Aigyou, after the numerous visits she made to Aigyou when the Hyuuga complex's

training equipment made her hands raw.

Behind her the three female Genin which chose to accompany her to Naruto all sported different reactions to Hanabi's less then friendly way of handling the clerk.

Tenten was smiling wickedly as she replayed the scene in her mind, despite their relationship being on rocky grounds with the Naruto situation the amusement found in Hanabi breaking older men with only words still held true. A small chuckle almost escaped her as the mental image of the clerk trembling under Hanabi's cold stare stole into her mind.

The only reason she held it back, was that it was not an appropriate time for such a thing, perhaps when she got home she would lay down on her bed and once again replay the scene, and in turn laugh about the man's misfortune. But as it was, she had other things to do, people to see, or more specifically a single person.

Hinata was trying her best not to frown and reprimand Hanabi for verbally abusing the clerk. She only held back because Hanabi had chosen to tell her that Naruto had returned, and she was going to see him. There was no love loss between her and her Cousin, despite them being family, they had never gotten along without major bumps. Hanabi had always wanted to get stronger, and prove that she could be the best. Hinata on the other hand only wanted to make her father and mother proud.

Once Hanabi had asked Hinata what she wanted to do when they were younger, when Hinata had given her answer Hanabi's face clouded over with anguish. She promptly turned away from her blue haired cousin and walked away. After that they had never gotten along, Hinata could not understand what had happened, and as it happened, she still couldn't.

Ino on the other hand was outright appalled by Hanabi's treatment of the uniformed man. And she voiced her opinions loudly.

"That was uncalled for!" reprimanded Ino lividly as she glared at the back of Hanabi's head. Her anger only increased as Hanabi stared down at the rooster she held in her hands silently, only to explode as Hanabi spoke up.

"According to this scribbled note next to Naruto-kun's name he is located in the Military section, In the Unique ward and in the recovery room." With that she tossed the sheet of paper back onto the counter's top.

"DO YOU HEAR ME?" Ino screeched outraged. As it was Hanabi could indeed here her, much to her chagrin. A fact was becoming apparent to Hanabi relatively quickly; Ino was a pain in the ball of her foot, and would have to be taken care of soon before she worked her way further in and became a permanent problem.

"Listen to me very carefully you blond haired bimbo." Hanabi calmly said as she turned away from the counter and faced Ino.

"You may never have a say in my actions, whatever authority you may think you have means less then excrement to me. The only reason I am even tolerating your presence is that Naruto has not expressed a dislike of you to me as of yet. Once that changes…" she trailed off, leaving the last words lingering in the air.

The platinum blond haired Genins' left eye twitched slightly at Hanabi's insult. She was quickly losing all patience she had, normally she was easy to get along with, but Hanabi was quickly becoming her least favourite person in the entire world.

"No you lis-" was as far as Ino got before a slender hand pressed over her mouth, muffling her words, which slowly trailed away as Ino realised that nothing she said could be understood.

"Ino-san, you don't want to make her angry." Tenten whispered into Ino's ear amusedly, for a moment she stopped to think, and her smile accentuated slightly, "Although it would be funny."

An annoyed scowl found its place on Ino's face as she watched Hanabi smirk in smug satisfaction. It made her want to possess Hanabi's body and make her jump off a cliff. But her family wouldn't approve of her mortally founding a fellow Konoha shinobi. That and she was supposedly close to Naruto. And if she got on his bad side she wouldn't be able to get what she wanted from him. As much as she would have liked to take Hanabi down a peg or two, she remained silent, there would always be another time to get even with the raven haired Hyuuga she reasoned.

"Hn." Grunted Hanabi lightly as she turned away from the three girls with her, and began on her way towards a map on the wall of the Hospitals lobby. Behind her Ino hmphed before following, Just as Tenten released her from the dreaded Hand-over-mouth hold.

A single girl remained standing still; Hinata was practically glowing at the rift between Hanabi and Ino. Hanabi, despite her cold demeanour cared for Naruto's well being greatly, and if she reasoned that Ino was bad for his health. A girlish squeal flew from Hinata's lips as she thought of what would happen if Naruto found Ino arguing with Hanabi. Only to choke off as she realised that the Naruto in the Recovery room may not be the same one she remembered. She couldn't bare the thought, she tossed the thoughts away and ran after the three other Genin who were on their way to see Naruto.

Half an hour later, after many a detour the four girls stood outside a solid steel door. Upon the middle of the door a wooden plaque stood out, the words inscribed upon the in comparison soft material were; Recovery.

Hanabi stood motionlessly in front of the door. Her emotions were conflicting with each other. She held hope for Naruto to be awake, she also held dread at the thought that Naruto may not have been brought back. But most importantly, she held fear, at the thought that after the three months since she last saw him, he would no longer remember her.

Deep down she knew it was a fool's fear, but the fear still undeniably existed. But no one could say Hanabi would not face her fears. All thoughts forgotten of the three other Genin behind her Hanabi whispered softly to herself as she reached out towards the door and touched upon the sleek surface of the metal frame.

"Ready or not here I come." The murmur came softly from her lips.

Slowly she slid her hand across the door towards the handle holding the door from swinging ajar.

"Hanabi."

Said girl snapped her head towards the source of the voice, intent on reinventing the tongue lashing she had given the clerk half an hour prior. Leaning against the wall adjacent to the corridors end Kakashi's visible eye was half open, lazy to all intent, but remained focused on Hanabi's face. Holding back the tempting verbal assault Hanabi inclined her head slightly towards Naruto's teacher.

"Kakashi-sensei, to what do I owe your presence?" she said after a moment, carefully wording her question, she had no intention of getting on the bad side of her eccentric teacher's rival who incidentally also the teacher of the boy beyond the door.

"I was instructed to inform you that you are given the responsibility of fabricating an explanation for Naruto's lack of memory for the last…three months." Kakashi explained casually, gifting Hanabi with a hidden smile at the end.

Hanabi's _Mougo kanchiki _**(Lie Sensor, ha ha) **went into immediate overdrive, but she didn't need the imaginary ability, the name Kakashi was synonymous with three things, being late, laziness and lying. With those three things it was easy to interpret Kakashi's words.

"You were supposed to fabricate a story to tell Naruto last night but you decided to spend some time reading instead and left it until the last moment. You plan to make me do your work?" she rounded off calmly.

Through her brutal dissection of his words, Kakashi remained emotionless until the very end, when he tilted his head slightly to his right.

"You could say it that way I guess, now that you know I am going to inform Sasuke of Naruto's arrival." with that and a bloom of smoke bursting from his feet, Kakashi disappeared leaving three confused girls and a bemused Hanabi.

"He wasn't being serious was he?" asked Ino incredulously.

"I think he was." murmured Hinata softly.

Her mind was in turmoil; her teacher had just given Hanabi a creative license with a direct order to make up the path three months. Irrational fear turned its despicable face and Hinata was assaulted with various things which Hanabi would tell Naruto, None of which were very flattering to anyone but her.

"If he is awake allow me to talk to him and explain. If he isn't, be silent until he is then follow the same instructions." Hanabi murmured blankly, just loud enough for the three girls' to hear. A chorus of agreeing sounds came from behind her, causing a ghost of a smile to appear on her lips

'_I have been ordered to shape Naruto's official recent past to my own liking, if it were anyone else I would do my duty, why should he be different? I will think of something, and if I cannot, Hinata will be able to._'

She had had enough of waiting, with a twist of her wrist and a gentle push, the metallic door swung open. Silently she stepped through the doorway, almost cautiously. Her eyes trailed across the room in search.

The room housed six medical beds. Their impeccable white colours seemed to glow brightly under the candles that resided upon the tables next to the head of each bed. Next to each table a single wooden chair sat neatly. The room was deserted, except for a single occupant.

Naruto was in the furthest bed on the left side of the room. He was easily recognisable as the bright yellow locks of his hair stood out against the white linen covering him from chin to toe. His face was as blank as the white sheets which covered him; it seemed as if nothing in the world mattered to him, as if he was in his own little world, impervious to the happenings outside.

Hanabi's eyes drifted along the length of Naruto's bed towards the end, upon it rested a clipboard, and stuck between the metal clip and the wooden backing she could make out a white sheet of paper, upon it writing was evident. It did not take the slightest effort for Hanabi to recognise the paper for what it was; Naruto's medical report.

As she made her way as quietly as possible towards Naruto, the girl's behind her were not as careful with the amount of noise their feet were making. Ever time one of them took a step a soft tap would ring out into the hollow ward. But she held her silence. If she told them to be quiet, something would go wrong, and would be louder then the noise they were making. The something in her mind was Ino. If the time came she would be more then happy to state her feelings on the subject.

Finally she had reached Naruto's bed, without wasting a moment she collected the clipboard and scanned the text on the pages.

Hinata, Tenten and Ino were each standing on either side of Naruto's bed, all of them looking at him unsurely. Hinata was the first to regain her wits about her as her eyes stared down at Naruto's face. The three parallel lines on Naruto's right cheek stood out against his less then radiant skin. The darker slits of skin seemed out of place on Naruto's face, when they had once before seemed to fit him perfectly.

The longer she stared down at Naruto's face, the clearer the reason became. Although she had seen Naruto sleeping peacefully, she had never seen him look so…blank, the total lack of enthusiasm, the lack of fire, the lack of life, the lack of Naruto. Was this the new face of Naruto? She wondered as morosely.

Beside her Ino was biting her lip as she stared down into Naruto's face. The picture she had in her mind of Naruto was of an invincible warrior, untouchable by anything mortal. The image was shattered as Naruto seemed as vulnerable as a new born baby. Despite that, despite seeing Naruto as a normal person, she still held onto her hope, that when he woke up, he would consider her proposal, and not toss it away without considering.

She did genuinely like him, that's what made it so much more painful to think that he would reject her. Rejection never went well with Ino. From rejection there was no where to go but apart, she couldn't stand being told no by the object of her interest, adding to the fact that she _needed_ him to say yes, and her own anger was not far behind the pain.

Across from both Hinata and Ino, Tenten stood gazing down calculatingly at Naruto's face. She hadn't expected him to look as if he simply was tired. What had happened to him, she wondered. No sign's of torture on his face. Did that mean he was subjected to mental tortures? Numerous questions flew through her head as she stared down at Naruto's face.

"Hanabi." She asked softly, unable to take her eyes off Naruto's face.

At hearing her name called, Hanabi turned her eyes from the information sheet upwards to Tenten. Just as she was about to ask what her team-mate wanted, Tenten supplied her with the question.

"What's wrong with him?"

The question made Hanabi pause for a moment to reflect over what she had just read.

'_Would it be right for them to know Naruto's detailed condition?'_

"Everything, yet nothing." She answered cryptically; she reasoned they would find out when –Or if Naruto woke.

Tenten sighed softly; slowly she brought her hand up from her side, hovering her hand just over Naruto's cheek, for a moment, before gently caressing it with the back of her hand. Her mouth fell open as Naruto shifted slightly, rubbing his cheek back against her hand.

Hanabi, Hinata and Ino tensed slightly as Naruto's face scrunched up sourly. Slowly his face relaxed and his eyes slid open, revealing the light blue of his eyes.

The little light that filled the room burned Naruto's retina's forcing him to seal his eye lids, protecting his unused and sensitive eyes from the dull flickering light of the candles. Ever so slowly he flickered his eyes open, allowing his eyes to adjust to the meagre amount of light in the room.

"N-naruto-kun?" stuttered a voice on his right. But he paid it no attention, he was racking his most recent memories, trying to decipher where he was, what had happened. With a painful blast from his slightly distant past Naruto's mind was set alight with images of a battle against a team of Cloud Nin's, trying to capture Hinata.

"Hina-ta!" Naruto exclaimed loudly as he tried to sit upright, neither action worked perfectly. His voice cracked halfway through Hinata's name, and he was unable to dislodge the tight sheet, holding him down. Tenten's hand recoiled slightly at the sudden movement,

"I'm right here Naruto-kun." Murmured Hinata softly as she reached out and placed a hand upon Naruto's shoulder. His head snapped towards her, his eyes were wide with confusion. The confusion faded into relief as he recognised her.

A frown appeared on his face as his eyes racked over what he could see of Hinata. She was wearing her everyday wear, not the outfit she had worn during the battle. Naruto's eyes flicked to Hinata's right, and landed upon the visage of Ino, who for lack of a better word seemed to be stunned. Seeing her at his side surprised Naruto slightly, but it did not last.

His eyes did not remain on her for long as a slight movement in the corner of his eye drew his attention away. The ebony white's of Hanabi's eyes started back at him emotionlessly. There was no trace of anything but utter calm upon her face as Naruto started back at her. But Naruto knew better, the slight twitch of her lips, almost invisible to the naked eye gave it away. She was happy, and thus, he was suddenly as calm as she appeared.

Yet another twitch of movement at his left prompted him to turn his head to his left. He for a moment thought his other Team-mate Sasuke may have been there, but as his eyes connected with the surprisingly soft eyes of Tenten, he was rendered momentarily stunned. His first impression of Tenten was simply that she wanted him as a punching bag.

Did she really care for him, he wondered as she gifted him with an uncertain smile. Soon the typical questions started to fill his brain, and like himself he voiced them.

"Where am I? What happened? Why are you three here? Where's Sasuke? Where's Kakashi-sensei? Did we finish the mission?" he asked slowly, stopping every time his voice strained.

"I was asked to inform you of everything that happened since you were last conscious." Hanabi calmly said as she started at the side of Naruto's head, her eyes, like her lips before were almost unnoticeably changed. There were hints of jealousy and anger hidden within her eyes. They promptly vanished as Naruto turned his attention back to Hanabi, who spared Tenten a cold look before beginning to answer Naruto's questions.

"You are currently in the Recovery ward of the Konoha Hospital." She paused for a moment, contemplating what to say.

"You were…captured by a group of slave trading Missing Nin's; they were trying to capture Hinata to sell to Kumogakure. You've been missing for three months. Last night you were returned to Konoha."

For a moment Hanabi's eyes flickered towards Naruto's right shoulder. Following her brief line of sight, Naruto turned his head and started at the small visible part of his shoulder. His face became devoid of emotion as he saw the makings of a wound. He had never sustained a wound before. He was tempted to touch it, but Hanabi continued, drawing his attention.

"The mark on your shoulder is a brand from the bastards that captured you." Hanabi said coldly, spitting out for the first time since he had met her; an explicit word.

Naruto flushed slightly at hearing the almost always in control Hanabi get angry over something. Noticing Naruto's reddened face Hanabi continued, holding back the smallest of smiles.

"I do not know about them, but I am here because I was worried about you." She murmured softly, ignoring the three glares directed at her. Naruto smiled softly at her, a smile which she returned whole heartedly.

"Thank you, Hanabi-Chan." he said warmly with a surprisingly steady voice, his smile soon faded as a pain grew in the back of his neck from the angle his head rested at. But despite all the effort he put into dislodging the sheet holding him down and covering his body he was unable. His frustration reached its limit as he glared down the sheet restraining him.

"You won't be able to do that yet Naruto-kun." Hanabi informed him sadly.

Instantly, Naruto snapped his eyes towards Hanabi's and snarled angrily.

"I can do it! I'm not weak!" he snapped. He instantly regretted it as Hanabi's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Actually, you are as weak as a new born baby." She snapped back coldly.

Naruto blanched slightly at her tone, she hadn't used that particular one with him for at half a year.

"How?" he asked quietly as he started into Hanabi's eyes.

Hanabi's eyes softened once again.

"They do not know, it has not happened before, ever."

Naruto nodded mutely, not willing to grasp what it meant.

"Could you remove the sheet and help me up?" he asked his company hesitantly, Ashamed at having to ask such a thing.

Silently Tenten and Hinata nodded. They took hold of the sheet's edge at Naruto's throat and pulled it down in a single swift motion.

Four faces blushed heavily. Naruto's body was not covered by any clothing, he was revealed for the entire room to see. Instantly Tenten and Hinata began blurting out apologies, the former however was wearing a cheeky smile upon her face. Hinata on the other hand seemed mortified that she had helped reveal a naked Naruto to the other three girls'. Luckily, the red of her face helped disguise the smallest drop of blood pooling in the corner of her nose.

Ino's face was as red as Hinata's if not redder. Though she sported not the mortified look of Hinata, nor the grin of Tenten. Instead her mouth hung open as she started at him shocked, unable to process the fact that Naruto was as naked as the day he was born, which she found amusing, considering the words Hanabi had spoken before.

"Pervert." She muttered under her breath as she made an effort to keep her eyes above Naruto's waistline.

Hanabi however was simply gazing at Naruto's face with a small bemused smile, something which Tenten noticed after she dragged her eyes away from the naked Naruto.

"How come you didn't react to Naruto being naked?" she asked curiously.

"Naruto use to train himself until he was unable to move." She murmured softly, her eyes still stuck upon Naruto's.

An emotion akin to horror appeared on the blush stained face of Naruto, just as he opened his mouth in protest to the story a simple arch of Hanabi's right eyebrow silenced any protest he may have made.

"As much as I told him if he didn't have a shower before he went to sleep, he never listened, and I refuse to have my room smelling of sweat. One such occasion when he was too exhausted to bath himself…" Hanabi trailed off slowly, enjoying the various looks of surprise, amusement, embarrassment and unsurprisingly envy.

Silence remained for a few minuets as none of those presence felt the need to break it, despite how uncomfortable it may have been for a certain blonde haired boy, laying prone on the hospital bed between the four female Genin.

Hinata was the first to do anything. During her brief period of looking at Naruto's _top_ body, her eyes continued to drift back to his shoulder. The dull red brand engraved on his shoulder caused a bang of guilt in her heart as she wondered what Naruto had gone through.

It seemed that Naruto had had enough of being naked in plain view of four of his female friends.

"Could you girls leave so I can get dressed?" Naruto asked after a moment.

Hinata's guilt turned to embarrassment. Tenten's Envy turned to annoyance. Ino's surprise turned to amusement. Hanabi's Amusement turned to bemusement, and Naruto? Well he was getting cold.

While Hinata and Ino were quite understanding about Naruto wanting them out of the room so he could get dressed, Tenten was much against Naruto's request.

"But Naruto, You won't be able to put clothes on by yourself if what Hanabi said is true, wouldn't you prefer that I stay and help you?" she cooed sweetly as she lifted her hand up from her side once again and placed it upon his shoulder.

A low growl from the end of the bed made Tenten pause and retract her hand. She had made a deal and she never went back on her words or actions. With a forced smile towards a blushing Naruto Tenten turned away from him and began to walk after Hinata and Ino, who were half way towards the door.

Hanabi however remained standing at the end of the bed. Her eyes remained fixed upon Naruto's, who despite the truth in Hanabi's earlier words was still feeling slightly uncomfortable with what he thought was about to occur. Slowly a frown made an appearance on Hanabi's face as she thought of something distressing.

"The Chuunin exams will be set in the not so distant future." She stated blankly.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly. For a moment he opened his mouth, but after a moment closed it again. He curled his finger's inwards into his palm, forming a loose fist.

"In your current condition, not only will you be unable to participate, but it is likely you will be removed from Genin duties. At this point I would agree with those penalties."

Naruto couldn't stand the blatant truth. It was too much for him to handle silently. Being told that he would be unable to continue in his life how he wanted to, and that he would have to give up his dreams, it did not sit well with him at all.

"No matter what you say, every though I trust you beyond all others…I won't let you decide my fate." He murmured quietly as he slid his eyes away from Hanabi's.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Hanabi's lips at Naruto's resolve response.

"I'll make you a deal." She proclaimed casually as she left the end of Naruto's bed.

Naruto looked up in time to see Hanabi's hand pressed against his cheek. As his eyes met Hanabi's again he was caught off guard by the uncharacteristic worry present. A frown appeared on his face as the smile and worry vanished completely.

"If you are able to get dressed by yourself, I will devote my training time to helping you return to your proper form before the beginning of the Chuunin exam." The smile slowly returned as Naruto's mouth fell open in surprise.

"Or if you prefer." She continued after a moment thought. "I'll give every day to helping you get stronger until you are ready for the exam."

Her offer was unacceptable in Naruto's mind.

"I can't let you do that." He protested vehemently. "You have to train yourself otherwise you might not be able to pass."

A flash of annoyance passed through Hanabi's eyes at Naruto's protest and opinion. Slowly she dug her fingers into his cheek, causing him to wince slightly from the stabbing pain of her finger nails.

"First, you have no say in the matter, a quick word with Hiashi-sama and I can have you for…whatever legal purposes I require if he allows it. Second, I have spent the last three month's since you were captured training. According to my Sensei I am at least mid Chuunin in skill to lower Jounin in Taijutsu." For a moment she paused as Naruto accepted her words. As she released her hold on his cheek she said one final thing.

"I'm disappointed that you don't have faith in me."

The guilty look on Naruto's face almost made Hanabi retract her final statement, but it was needed, without it the tiny manipulation she was using would fail. It couldn't fail. If she didn't help Naruto return to his vigorous self, she could not bear to see how he would fare over the next few years.

"I won't disappoint you again." He murmured almost inaudibly.

"You'd better not." She teased, "Or else I'll tell Tenten she _can_ use you for target practice."

A look of mild horror appeared on Naruto's face as he imagined what Tenten would but him through.

"I'll hold you to that." Tenten's voice echoed loudly from the door.

Both Hanabi and Naruto blinked in surprise, they had not realised they could still be heard. Hanabi was the first to pick out the single factor that let Tenten hear her taunt. The lack of noise allowed the sounds to carry easily through the air to the door.

A scowl almost appeared on Hanabi's face, she had not intended to actually make good on the threat. She had little doubt that Naruto would disappoint her. That was the only reason she needed to motivate him in such a way. But with Tenten aware of the ultimatum it meant she would have do as she said, lest she be seen as a liar.

Leaning down to Naruto's face, she placed her lips just beside her ear.

"Don't disappoint me." She whispered as softly as she could before leaning back and gracing Naruto with a casual smile. The smile lasted for a few seconds before she turned away and began to make her way out of the room.

Once she was near the door she turned back to Naruto, latching her eyes onto his.

"If you can't make it to the door you _will_ have disappointed me, Naruto-kun." She stated calmly, before turning once again to the door, and walking out of Naruto's sight.

Naruto resolve hardened as he tensed his muscles. Hanabi was putting her faith in him, and he would _not_ let her down if he could help it. With a quick glance around his bed he quickly determined that the only clothing in the entire room was a paper thin patient gown folded on the table next to his bed. Outwardly Naruto was frowning at the piece of clothing, but inwardly he was relieved, it wouldn't take any effort at all to put the gown on.

Anxiety was starting to bubble beneath the surface of Naruto's mind. The gown did not even weigh enough to put any strain at all on his body. But how would walking end up? He did not give it much though as he used his arms to help him slid to the edge of his bed.

Slowly he slid his feet onto the ground, slowly putting more and more of his weight from his arms to his lower appendages. He could already feel more then a slight strain on his arms from the weight he was placing on them. Soon it let up as his feet began to adjust once again to his bodies' weight.

Unsurprisingly the weight had already begun to strain the unused muscles as Naruto pushed off the bed and placed his entire weight on both of his feet.

A grimace appeared on his face as his muscles screamed in fire as a proverbial fire ignited in the tensed areas. For a minute Naruto thought his legs were going to buckle underneath him. But surprises continued as they withstood the weight that they should not have been able to.

Despite the pain in his lower body, Naruto reached to the gown and grasped the tin material in his hand. His arm shook slightly as he tried to focus on ignoring the pain spreading upwards. It seemed like an eternity as Naruto under the pain from his legs covered himself in the white gown. Determined to not fail, determined to not disappoint Naruto closed the front of the gown with the lases upon each side.

Through the dulling pain that covered his mind Naruto decided that he was sufficiently covered.

The pain flared back to life as Naruto lifted one of his feet up off the ground. In one leg the pain vanished as the strain was removed, but it did little good. With the extra strain on his other leg it was all he could do to not cry out in pain. Ever so slowly he began to make his way towards the door of the room. Every step sent a pain burning through his systems, and every stop gifting him with a little break.

By the time he had reached the door more then a few tears had accumulated in his eyes, but they did not fall. Shaking he gripped the side of the door, trying to stop his body shuddering. Slowly, the pain receded as the strain became more local to his muscles instead of his entire leg.

Glancing up Naruto was surprised to see identical looks of concern on all the girl's faces. Hinata in particular seemed to be holding back her own tears as she stared into his eyes. Slowly he smiled, ignoring the pain, briefly glancing to Hanabi he spoke shakily;

"I won't disappoint."

Hanabi blinked surprisedly at the proclamation from Naruto. Her lips slowly morphed into a warm smile.

"No, I do not suppose you will."

With that, Naruto fell forward, welcoming back the all consuming darkness and refresh that unconsciousness brought.

* * *

**Editing sucks. It makes me think bad things.**


	21. Foreign Relations

**Twenty reviews is a decent count, although I am saddened to find that a few of the people I looked forwards to seeing review, and consequentially reading them had not reviewed. Thanks to everyone who did though. The first thing you'll notice in this chapter is the word 'Naruto's' which has nothing to do with anything, except the story. **

**The pain point of this chapter is to show Naruto returning to normal among other things, and before anyone even thinks about it, there is _no way_ that _it_ will _ever_ happen. Those who think it will know what I mean, and those who don't good readers. I wrote this in two day's 3500ish the first and 3000 the following in other words today. If it has some inconsistencies, then I'm sorry. **

**Remember how I use to put parts of song lyrics here? Well I'm not doing that anymore, but if you would be assed enough to, then I suggest you find the lyrics for'Unbreakable' by Bon Jovi. It suits the Naruto in this chapter. Numbal, that part of the chapter for you, you'll know which it is, it is marked. ;) **

**Also, if any of you like to read Harry Potter stories, and Humor stories, please take a look at 'Harry Potter and the Dance Off' it's something I wrote when i got bored. it's lame until the end, then it's awesome.**

**Note: One edit, Thanks to _Cyberwolf_.  
Note: Second Edit, Thanks to _Yo_. Also, the Die is a d100 XD**

**Jon **

* * *

Naruto's brief walk had tired his unused body, but the next day as he woke up in his old bed in the Hyuuga complex, it didn't matter. He felt refreshed, all that mattered was getting stronger…and making Hanabi eat her own words. Complete failure was something Naruto refused to be categorised under, If he let his life dream skip from his hands without trying to catch it, he was better off dead in his own eyes.

He was suppose to be as weak as a baby, considering how much pain he had went through when he forced his legs to walk, it was true. He doubted babies could handle that much pain without crying. But He was different, he wasn't a child, he was a ninja, a little pain wouldn't stop him from returning to what he thought he was the last time he was awake.

That was something that disconcerted Naruto immensely, he had missed three month's of his life. The last memories he had was of Kabuto sacrificing himself, and then the unsatisfiable rage, that caused him to end the enemies life…In a way he did not know he was capable of.

_Juushin_

_**The Brutal Heart**_

He did not know whether to be pleased with himself or disgusted. It was one of the conflicts of being a child and a trained assassin- Was he supposed to be at ease with killing? Was he supposed to do it so easily? What would he become if he looked at it as a simple thing?

Even as much as he was disturbed with the technique, his fascination went beyond it. He had not even known that he had the ability to use the innocent technique Aigyou had taught him and turn it into something as malicious as the _Juushin_. It in the few hours he had been awake had become both a sore point, and something he was proud of, could a genius at a moments notice changed a technique used for transportation into a deadly move? Probably, but that meant he was a genius too.

Testingly Naruto sniffed the air, only to grimace afterwards, he now knew why Hanabi complained about him not having a shower after training, the stench of the sweat soaked into the bed was not at all pleasant. But he doubted it had smelled as bad as it did three months or more prior. Part of him felt at home as he relaxed on his bed, another part urged him to get up and start exercising his muscles. He really had no idea which to listen to; his muscles which told him to rest? Or his mind which told him to get stronger?

In the end the mind won, the mind always won. It simply knew better.

Slowly he tensed his muscles; it was a surprise to him as his muscles did not share the pain they had previously. Had his muscles adapted over the day he had returned to sleep? It didn't seem likely, He reasoned quickly that his mind was just used to the pain which came from using the underdeveloped muscles.

A frown appeared on Naruto's face as a blurred memory appeared in his mind. Nothing was clear at all; it was as if it was only a dream that was supposed to be forgotten. Flashes of white hair, yellow eyes, things he had never seen before. Memories of the time he spent in the enemies' hand, he assumed, and with that he paid them no heed. It would not due to dwell on the past when he had so much to do to ensure a future.

He had decided, the die had been cast and he had rolled a thirty, it was time to get out of bed and get ready for whatever Hanabi chose for him to train in. he did not need to be ready for anything, it was obvious what she would do, build up his muscles and train his reaction time. If his muscles weren't up to scratch then he would not be able to move quick enough to avoid basic Taijutsu moves, and if it came to that, he wouldn't be able to go in close range. It would be a major disadvantage; most of his skills relied on being up close and personal with the enemy.

It did not require any more thought, shifting his body slightly Naruto brought his feet off his bed and onto the ground, using his hands he pushed off the mattress, and much to his surprise there was only the smallest amount of strain apparent to his arms. The same could _almost_ be said about his legs, the blinding pain from the previous day wasn't found, instead, while there was still pain it was manageable. It was as if someone had tunned the pain out. Yet again Naruto zoned out of reality and thought over the things he knew. Annoyingly it only came up to one thing. 'He was weak as a baby' but that wasn't specific at all; did it mean his muscles were just unused and weak? If so then weren't there techniques like acupuncture that helped fix the damage of disuse?

The questions did not stop, as soon as a question was asked three other's sprung up to accompany it; No answer's just questions. Naruto tossed the questions from his mind; he did not have time to deal with his over active mind. Moving slightly faster then the day before, Naruto made his way from his bed towards the door. He paused for only a moment before gripping the handle and sliding the door open.

His eyes widened slightly as another door accompanied the opening of his, Across from him Hanabi stood, staring at him. After a brief moment of silence between them a brief memory flashed through Naruto's mind.

"Yesterday…you were wearing _it_ weren't you?" he asked hesitantly.

He was surprised when Hanabi nodded her affirmation. When he had given the set of clothing to her he had never expected her to wear it, it was just something he thought she would like to receive; he almost winced as he remembered the glare he had received in return when she had unwrapped the gift. What had changed between then and before he had no idea.

"Come on, let's begin." She yawned out softly as she began to make her way down the corridor.

With that it seemed that Naruto would have no time at all to think. The moment they were in the training arena it had begun, Instead of the exercises he had assumed they would go through Hanabi jumped straight into what she did best; beating the crap out of anything that moved. It seemed Hanabi was going to let Naruto get away with that much extra, she declared early on that she would only use one arm to attack and defend herself with. While not much of a major advantage it was enough that Naruto with his impaired muscles stood a chance.

After three hours of straight sparring Naruto was unable to move without pain stabbing every fibre of his entire body. To his satisfaction, while Hanabi was no where near his state she still had a fair share of pain. It seemed Hanabi noticed the small smile on his lips as he stared at her. He felt almost giddy as a small blush appeared on her cheeks, the first he had ever seen her sport.

"If you can smile you can fight, get up!" Naruto winced slightly as Hanabi stood up and took the Gentle Fist opening stance.

Naruto's muscles may have been burning, but he would never turn down a fight from Hanabi, it was a matter of principle, when she challenged he wouldn't back down. He hadn't backed down yet, and he wouldn't show any weakness to her until the challenge was met. With a cocky grin he stood back up and took the stance of The Gentle fists Counter part, The Severe Palm.

In a split second they were off, and in a rare coincidence they both made the same attack, to the same places. Their hands clapped against each other with a loud smack. Naruto smirked tiredly as he curled his fingers down onto Hanabi's hands holding them together with his. He could already feel the build up of Chakra in her palms. It was going to hurt either him severely, or neither of them. To counter the build up of her Chakra, Naruto pushed his own through his hands, clashing the two forces against each other.

The build up of the combined energy flared into view as flame like tails flew out from their connected palms. And just as it begun it ended, the implosion of the energy from both of the fighters sent them both flying backwards a good ten meters, Naruto winced as his body rolled along the ground, it felt as though his body was being smacked around with a battering ram. Hanabi however seemed to be no worse off for wear, except for a slight pant signifying that she was exhausted. It seemed endurance and stamina had won over skill and finesse for at least one day. It was a huge victory on Naruto's part. Even if Hanabi had only been using a single hand he had still managed to tire her out in the duel. If it were a real battle he would not have won, but it still meant he would be able to get back to normal.

For a moment it occurred to him, it had not even been two days and he was already enough of a match for Hanabi that she was tired. For some unfathomable reason it concerned him. More so then when he had found out early on in his training that he healed at a much faster rate then everyone else. Could that have been it, he wondered, could he have had a healing blood line? It would have explained why his muscles were healings and becoming so strong as quickly as they were.

A frown appeared on his face. If he had a Bloodline then one of his parents must have had it as well. And if they could heal as fast as him then they wouldn't have been killed, he refused to believe that his parents abandoned him. No matter what he refused to believe it. His parents had long since been erased from his concerns, The Sandaime had taken care of him when he younger by providing him with any ANBU off duty as a caretaker. That in itself was a duel blessing; he had been taken care of during his early years _and_ had found what he wanted to be.

**_This is for you Numbal!_**

"A little help." snapped Hanabi.

Glancing to her again Naruto wasn't surprised to see her sitting on the ground scowling. He had beaten her with a Handy cap on both of their parts.

"Take me to my room now." She ordered Naruto glumly.

"Bu-"whatever protest he was going to escape the duty with was cut off at the cold glare Hanabi displayed for him. For a moment he thought that she had forgotten his condition, until he saw the small glean in her eye; it was yet another test.

He had to hold back a chuckle as she reached out to him indicating that he should pick her up. Naruto was surprised; he had no idea that he had done as much damage to her as it seemed, for her to request his assistance in moving…

A frown appeared on his lips as he stood up and walked over to Hanabi.

"How do you want me to carry you?" he asked hesitantly.

The words sounded foreign as he pronounced them to Hanabi. Naruto was so caught up in his own words that he missed the sly smile upon Hanabi's mouth before she announced her preferred method of Naruto-Travel.

"Bridal style if you would?" she arched an eyebrow as she watches Naruto for his reaction.

She was not disappointed, a slight flush appeared on Naruto's cheeks as he nodded and kneeled down next to Hanabi. Carefully as he could he slipped one of his arms under Hanabi's knees. He placed his other arm behind Hanabi's back, and ever so slowly he lifted her up. He was surprised at how light she felt, for a moment he contemplated throwing her up into the air and catching her, the idea was immediately tossed aside as she poked him gently.

"Hurry up." She snapped at him.

"Yes Mistress." Naruto mumbled under his breath, it would have remained secret had Hanabi not been in his arms, and close enough to hear the words. He had expected that she would have blushed at being referred to by such a suggestive title; instead she smiled faintly and murmured something back.

"Keep this up and we'll see."

**_End Numbal Scene_**

Fifteen days later with fourteen days to go, Hanabi had decided- much to Naruto's amusement that he was ready to step it up a notch, in other words he could move easily and was ready for a proper fight in the forests. It was decided before he had even agreed to the idea that it would be a fighting game of cat and mouse.

In other words, Naruto would have to run and hide, and then fight when she found him until he could get away again. Quite the fights they would be as well, Hanabi refused to hold anything back, declaring that Naruto was at least as good as he was before. He found it hard to believe that Two years of work could be redone in Fifteen days. It filled him with pride and awe every time he thought it could be remotely true. Pride in the fact that he had been able to with the correct knowledge do what had taken him two years in not even a month. Awe at Hanabi's teaching abilities- By that he meant her uncanny ability to make him either beat her or bleed.

A tenacious sigh escaped Naruto's lips as he strained his ears to catch any hint of movement about the area. He had picked his spot in the tree for two reasons, one it gave him a good vantage point, and two because it would give him a quick escape root when Hanabi found him. Not if, it was a given, Hanabi would find him, even if she had to resort to the Byakugan.

The whistling sound of metal slicing through air quickly alerted Naruto to the incoming weapons. Lunging to his right he narrowly avoided being impaled upon the tree by two Kunai. He let his guard down for a moment as he stared down to where the Kunai's angle dictated they came from.

"_One who excels in Travelling leaves no wheel tracks._" whispered a voice from directly behind Naruto. In a split second Naruto crouched down and struck his leg towards the source of the voice. His foot met nothing as it passed behind him.

She was playing mind games with him. Naruto took a deep breath and released it, calmly scanning the area around and below him. It would not do to meet her in combat unprepared and jittery. A nagging feeling in the back of his mind alerted Naruto to the fact that he had missed something crucial.

'_I've checked the right, the left, below behind, what els-Above!_' It seemed Naruto's guess was correct, just as he began to turn his head upwards a devastating kick to his spine sent him flying from the tree's branch. As he plummeted through the air Naruto grinded his teeth together, the kick had been a surprise _and_ it hurt. Naruto calmed himself down as he envisioned a thin layer of Chakra coating his entire body, just as he had done when he had fallen from the Hyuuga's training wall.

As he slammed into the ground instead of rolling to a stop his body slid along the dirt and tumbled until he kicked off from the terrain and launched himself back into the air. Giving the spot he had been attacked a brief glance Naruto was astounded to find no sign of Hanabi, not even the leaves had been disturbed.

Naruto had only touched the tree branch for a mere second before he kicked off yet again. The moment he stopped moving and let his Guard down would be the next moment Hanabi attacked. It was armed with that Knowledge that Naruto undershot his next jump, only barely. As it looked like he would miss the branch he slashed his hand downwards to catch the branch, in normal circumstances it would have torn the skin off his hand, luckily for him the layer of Chakra still had some strength to it and absorbed the kinetic energy which otherwise would have brought on a bloody end to the exercise.

With the momentum from his jump, Naruto swung himself upwards, sending his body soaring up into the sky, giving him a perfect vantage point for a moment. On the Top's of the tree's Naruto could see Hanabi smirking up at him as he passed her. For a split second, Naruto thought that he would get away with the cheeky manoeuvre, that was until Hanabi latched onto his shirt and diverted his direction...into that of the tree she was standing on top of.

Naruto bit back a few choice words as Hanabi pulled him up to her eye level.

"_One who excels as a warrior does not appear formidable._" She stated calmly as she released her grip on Naruto's shirt, allowing him to begin his plummet towards the foliage covered ground. Grinding his teeth together Naruto translated Hanabi's words quickly.

'_One who will kick your ass doesn't let you know about it until the last moment.' _

Naruto took the time as he plummeted earthwards to comprehend his situation. He was being 'hunted' by Hanabi. He was not allowed to attack, only defend. She was allowed to do whatever she wanted when she found him. **_How_** did he end up in such a situation?

'_Oh that's right.´ _he thought to himself bitterly. '_I didn't want to disappoint her._'

Glancing downwards to the quickly rising ground, Naruto decided to stop himself from being hurt by slamming directly into the ground. In a split second two separate gloves of Chakra grew out from his skin, protecting his hands. As the Ground finally made contact Naruto slammed both of his palms into the terrain. The tremor shook his body to the bone, but the damage was a lot less then if he had crashed into the ground. He estimated that he had sprained his wrist from landing, but that was all.

Naruto's eyes widened as out of the air in front of him Hanabi shimmered into existence in the middle of a round-house kick. Just as he opened his mouth to tell her to stop Hanabi's heel slammed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and subsequently any words he may have attempted to say. A short scream escaped his mouth as the pain blossomed through his body. Following it a tidal wave of rage seemed to blossom from his stomach.

He had had enough, a one sided fight against Hanabi was only going to get him hurt, he reasoned it did not need to be one sided. As he flew through the air, Naruto managed to manipulate his body enough to land on his right side, he cushioned the fall with his right hand and leg.

A primal roar escaped Naruto's lips as he glared to where Hanabi had been standing. Rationality quickly returned as she was no where to be seen. Drawing in a shaky breath Naruto relaxes his muscles, it would do no good for him to pull one of them and leave himself open for Hanabi to _kick_ again.

He could feel the blood rush through his veins; the anger was still fresh in his mind. His body tensed as a pair of hands touched upon his sides, and slowly ensnared themselves around his waist. As he was about to move Hanabi spoke again.

"_One who excels in fighting is never aroused in anger._" Naruto's body tensed even further as she slid her hands down his body.

"It seems you have that one _down_."

Naruto's left eye twitched involuntarily, slowly a blush faded onto his cheeks. Moments before he was about to begin to yell Hanabi decided to speak, yet again.

"That's it for today I guess, the lesson isn't complete, but we can work on that later" She said calmly as she released Naruto from her hold.

Naruto stood still, trying to sort through the anger and confusion in his mind. It did not make any sense as it was, so Naruto did the only thing he could think of; he sat down and reviewed what she had said.

'_One who excels in travel leaves no wheel tracks"_

_**Stop making it easy to find you.**_

'_One who excels as a warrior does not appear formidable'_

**_Don't be uptight, just go with it, and relax._**

'_One who excels in fighting is never aroused in anger'_

…_**Don't get aroused over what I do to you?**_

Naruto shook his head violently; he had no wish to think of Hanabi that way with so much else on his mind.

_**No matter how angry you get, never lose concentration.**_

It sounded slightly better, for the moment.

A frown appeared on Naruto's face as he thought over the short ended game. He was supposedly near her level in fighting, but that wasn't completely true anymore in his mind. Before it was a controlled environment with flat out fighting, out in the forest, Hanabi had beaten him down, so much easier.

His Tactic's were lacking, he decided as he glanced around the forest. If he had been the predator, would it have been the same? Would he have been outclassed in tracking and hiding? Or would he have simply gotten her because of the switch in roles? He doubted the later, but it did bring up a sore point, even though he could claim to be able to at least match her, he couldn't say he would be able to beat her if they were including everything.

Was that what she wanted to show him? That even though he may have been able to match her once again, he was still lacking? The thought annoyed him to no end. Which brought anger to himself, he had never assumed that he could beat her before; he had only beaten her because she had not been trying her hardest- after all, she wouldn't try as hard as she could on a person who had only been out of hospital for fifteen days.

Fifteen days to get ready, and fifteen days to train the hell out of him that was her plan, it suited her enough. What he had just endured was supposedly the transition between practice and actual training. Meaning it would only get harder from then on.

A sigh escaped his lips as he began to make his way back to his current home; The Hyuuga Complex. It felt surprisingly comforting to call it his home again. Even though it had only been a week in which he couldn't call it home to his mind, it was still a painful week. Not being able to wake up and train was something he did not relish the thought of doing again.

This was a version of his paradise; Becoming stronger, reaching higher, getting closer to the final goal, in his case becoming a member of the ANBU. The same people who took care of him while he grew up, he would work beside them and gain their respect, just as they had gained his.

The fifteen days between then and the Chuunin exam passed in a blur of gruelling training and various visits to Aigyou to explain why Hanabi or he had sprained a certain apart of their body, normally their wrists, but their ankles were not subjected from the rule when she insisted they go for another forest excursion.

Naruto was anxious it was the morning before the Chuunin exam. It would be the first time would have seen Sasuke in four months. His black haired…friend, if you could call him that had been training just as hard as he had been, if Kakashi when he had visited told the truth. He had seen an excess of Hinata during the last fifteen months, she had more often then not helped both he and Hanabi with their wounds when her mother had more serious patients to tend to. After demanding an entry form for the Chuunin exam Kakashi complied- But only after checking his progress with Hanabi. Much to Kakashi's surprise and immense relief, she declared that Naruto was indeed fit enough to stand a chance in the Chuunin exam. Annoyingly enough for Naruto, Kakashi wasn't entirely willing to take Genins word for it, and attacked him. Needless to say he got a tongue lashing from Hanabi after Naruto proved himself to be competent enough- Not that it fazed him, or at least Naruto did not think it did from the nonchalant stare Kakashi gaze Hanabi before turning back to his book.

Tenten had shown up at east once a week to help both Hanabi and himself become more proficient at avoiding weapons. Much to his dismay Hanabi was already light years ahead of him at avoiding Tenten's specialties. Because of that more often then not Tenten's only target was himself, she seemed to delight in inflicting wounds on him. He couldn't fault her though, when ever the wounds became to great she helped him affectionately. Hanabi seemed to take some offence at him getting so hurt, he assumed, every time it came for Tenten to bandage his wounds she would glare at her. It was lucky that, his body seemed to heal at a much faster rate then the others. It gave Tenten little time to give him medical attention. Which meant that she went for more fatal target's much to his dismay.

Ino had not been much of a stranger either. At first Hanabi had been annoyed, but as Ino confided in her the real reason she came around it soon changed, the teamwork in her team was above everything they could have hoped for, but they still lacked in separate skills. It ended up being that Ino would join them both when Hanabi chose the forest for the practice setting. It turned out- Much to Naruto's horror that Ino had been picking up traits from Shikamaru, sadly not the 'legendary laziness' that she moaned about- Instead she had become mildly adept at battle tactics. It made Naruto's days hell when both Hanabi and Ino teamed up as the predators and hunted him. The only time he won was when he knew what he was going to do in advance, that and when his luck held out.

As Naruto's mind rolled over the past month he barely noticed Hinata entering the field. Glancing up to her he gifted her with a small smile before he went back to his thoughts. In a few hours the Chuunin exam would begin. Kakashi had asked both he and Hinata meet him and Sasuke at the field in the morning for a reunion before the exam. The sun has already begun to rise and neither Sasuke nor Kakashi were anywhere in sight.

'_Think of the devil._' Thought Naruto bemusedly as Sasuke strode into view from the west. Through the dwindling darkness Naruto could just make out the whites of Sasukes eyes as he came closer and closer. Finally after what seemed like minutes Sasuke stood a meter away from Naruto, neither said anything instead, they both simultaneously gave each other a small smile. There was no ill will between them. Sasuke turned to Hinata and nodded to her slightly before he himself sat down on the moist grass.

"I'm glad you all decided to be early." stated a bored voice from behind the three newly reunited Genin

Naruto smiled softly.

"Nice to see you to Kakashi-sensei, but mistake me if I am wrong, but is it not you, who is late normally?" He asked as he slowly rose to his feet and turned to face his silver haired instructor. Both Sasuke and Hinata were soon to mimic his actions.

After staring at Naruto appraisingly Kakashi nodded to himself.

"You look to be in fine health." he murmured more to himself then Naruto. After a moment he slipped something into his weapons pouch, it didn't take a blacksmith to realise what it was, especially after Kakashi had given Naruto the edition he had made a random guess about during his introduction. Needless to say Hanabi found it and hurt him.

"After all this time, I feel that a small test is in order." declared Kakashi happily as he withdrew his hand from the pouch.

The three Genins' faces faltered as the jingle from a pair of silver bells caught their attention. With that Kakashi disappeared in a gust of wind and leaves, leaving his students to dictate their own actions. Sasuke was unsurprisingly the first to decide their pattern of attack and retrieval.

"Hinata, activate your Byakugan and search for him. Naruto, you and I will attack him head on. One of us should be able to retrieve a bell. Hinata, attack from behind him, hopefully we will be able to catch him off guard." He stated clearly and confidently.

Naruto frowned. The Chuunin exam was on in a few hours, Did Kakashi really expect them to waste energy that they might need later on? Was that the test? Before it had been team-work, what was it this time? Common sense? Naruto turned to Hinata to see if she had picked up on the same thing he had, but to his surprise and disappointment she had already activated her Byakugan.

"Stop, both of you." Naruto sighed softly as he spoke; it brought both Sasukes and Hinata's attention to him.

"You've both been tricked, do you really think that Kakashi would want us to try and get the bells from him before the Exam?" he shook his head slightly before asking his team mates to use theirs. The truth was quickly comprehended by both of them.

"I'm surprised Naruto, I thought you would be the first one to fall to my little test. Instead I find that you are the only one who saw the real purpose." Kakashi's voice spoke from the same spot he had been standing in before.

It occurred to Naruto, that Kakashi had not left at all, he was hiding, quickly he pushed a small amount of Chakra through his brain, having it seek out any area's which were influenced by an outside force, Kakashi's Genjutsu anchor was quickly found and destroyed by the currents of Chakra.

Kakashi appeared out of thin air it seemed to Naruto. Both Sasuke and Hinata had already dispelled the illusion it seemed as both of them were looking at Kakashi's face.

"If you had chosen to seek me out I would not have allowed any of you to take the Exam. It's something you have to learn before you take part, not everything is as it seems, a ninja** _must_** be able to read underneath the underneath."

Naruto dared not look at Sasuke. He knew exactly how Sasuke would be looking at him after being upstaged yet again. Hinata was safe to look at he reasoned. There laid the current predicament of Naruto; Look at Hinata and make Sasuke angrier. Or Look at Sasuke and withstand his Anger. Naruto settled for sighing and letting his shoulders sag as he began to walk back to the main part of the village. He could already hear Kakashi lecturing Sasuke on thinking before acting and Hinata on not blindly following orders.

For the next two hours, Naruto roamed the streets of the waking Konoha, a pang of sadness shot through him every time one of the villagers caught sight of him and ran inside their house or a nearby shop. The Foreign Shinobi had already began to pour into the village, much to Naruto's amusement they seemed to only show up when he began to walk down a new street and the villagers ran off the street. A few of the more newer Genin seemed to be in awe of Naruto being able to strike such fear in the common people just by walking down a road.

Sick of all the looks he had received from everyone Naruto decided retired to a park nearby the Academy. As he rounded the last corner, he was surprised to see the back of…a man drape in black, Naruto almost choked out a laugh as he noticed two points rise off the person's head.

It seemed he had not been silent enough with his stifled laugh, the man turned to face him. The first impression Naruto got was of the Inuzuka clan with their face paint, but they lived in leaf, and the man wore a different forehead protector, it had the simple of the Sand engraved on the metal. After the initial look Naruto was put on alert as he noticed a younger child in the man's hand.

"What are you laughing at?" snapped the man as he raised the boy he was holding slightly higher. The boy in his grip seemed to be disturbed by Naruto's laugh. A quick glance over the man's shoulder revealed a second person staring at him. A pair of obsidian eyes stared back at him. Focusing on her face a little less, Naruto first took notice of one thing; it was a girl. A second thing; She had Blond hair.

"Hi!" he exclaimed happily as he walked up to her.

His reaction seemed to put her off Guard; she murmured a small hello before snapping at him.

"What do you want?" She seemed to become agitated as his smile got wider.

"Nothing, I was just curious, I'm the only person I've ever seen with blond hair, I have a friend who has pale blond but yeah..." His answer seemed to perplex her. With that he turned back to the first person.

"I'd let him go if I were you, He's the grandson of the Sandaime." Naruto informed him cheerfully.

The man glanced down at the boy he was holding before glancing back up to Naruto. Instantly he dropped the boy.

"I was just messing around." He mumbled as he glared down at the child.

"Who are you both?" Naruto asked curiously, the man he had little thoughts for, but the blond haired girl. There was a small chance… he quickly dismissed the thought, it wouldn't do for him to get emotional, or for her to have something to hold over him if they met in combat.

"I'm Kankuro, that is my sister Temari, who are _you_?" he asked grouchily.

Naruto felt giddy at the prospect of annoying the now named Kankuro. Just as he was about to start his attempt a quiet voice repeated Kankuro's question from behind him. Seeing the looks of fear on both Kankuro's and Temari's faces, Naruto was hesitant to turn around, but in the end curiosity won out. Tilting his head up as he turned around, he was surprised to see nothing but the sky. Tilting his head down a slight bit he found himself staring into blood shot green eyes. The first impression the new comer gave him was of a Raccoon, quickly dissipating the thought Naruto smiled.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, who about you?" Naruto answered and asked curiously. For some reason the way the red haired boy stared at him made the hair on the back of his neck prickle slightly, if he had eyes in the back of his head, he would have seen a look of sadness on Temari's face and a look of pure delight on Kankuro's. Whatever reaction they had thought Naruto would invoke out of the newcomer, they were mistaken.

"I'm Gaara." The boy answered quietly, both Temari's and Kankuro's faces faltered, Temari looked relieved and Kankuro, well he just looked disappointed.

"Come." commanded Gaara softly as he turned away from Naruto.

Both Temari and Kankuro followed the order without hesitation, something which disturbed Naruto slightly, both of them seemed older then Gaara, shouldn't they have been giving the orders? As both of them walked past Naruto they each gave Naruto a different look, Kankuro gifted him with a disgruntled glare whilst Temari just gave him a small smile.

Yet another thing he noticed as they left; all three had something on their back, Gaara had a gourd, Temari had a large fan...and Kankuro had...a...large white cigar? Naruto hesitated for a moment before calling out one last time.

"You three are going to be in the Chuunin exam right?"

It seemed only Gaara had heard him, turning back to Naruto he stared him in the eye for a moment, before inclining his head slightly. Naruto smiled to himself as he nodded back. A bit of motion from back where Kankuro had dropped the boy caught his attention prompting him to turn back. Naruto was surprised as he noticed two children beside the Sandaimes grandson.

Had they been there the entire time, he wondered. He almost felt like slapping himself, it seemed his perception still needed some kinks worked out of it.

"Konohamaru, you should be more careful around foreign ninja." sighed Naruto as he stared down at the three children.

The boy in the middle huffed slightly before folding his arms across his chest and turning away. The honey comb coloured haired girl looked up from Konohamaru and stared at Naruto for a moment. It occurred to Naruto that she was the second person he had ever seen with yellowish blond hair. He wasn't able to react in time before a yellow haired blur slammed into him. He almost winced in pain as the young girl clung to his waist yelling 'Thank you' over and over again.

"Uh…" Naruto could feel his hips beginning to fold under the pressure of the hug the girl was giving him. Finally after what seemed like an age filled with pain the girl let go and returned to Konohmaru's side.

"Who're your friends?" asked Naruto as he massaged his hips, he had no idea how a girl could muster such strength.

Konohamaru looked up to meet Naruto's gaze, before introducing his friends or at least he tried to. The girl instantly reprimanded him and told him to rest before introducing herself.

"I'm Moegi, you said your name was Naruto right?" she asked brightly.

Naruto blinked for a moment before nodding.

"I'm Udon." murmured the boy on Konohamaru's other side as he wiped his nose with his sleeve.

Naruto nodded again to the other boy.

"It was nice to meet you two, Konohamaru be more careful, with these ninjas around you never know what might happen." Konohamaru scowled slightly before nodding.

With that Naruto waved to the three children and began to walk away, as he entered the streets again a scowl over came his face as a group of elderly villagers whispered to each other and pointed to him, before disappearing into a near by shop. A sigh escaped his lips; He still had at least an hour until the exam began, and he did not feel like talking to anyone. Which put a few screws out of wack for his wanderings; if he went pass Tenten's shop or Ino's they'd somehow manage to get him to talk to them.

Resigning himself to the fact that there was nothing for him to do, Naruto began to make his way towards where the Chuunin exams were to take place. He could waste an hour talking to some of the foreign Ninja, he reasoned.

* * *

**I wonder who he will talk to? If anyone finds the actions of any character in this chapter unrealistic, please tell me in a review and inform me of what they _would_ do.**


	22. The First Test

**This is the longest chapter yet, at a painful 8,435ish word length. It would have been shorter but blah, I hate following canon it's so restrictive and painful. For those who wonder what Naruto looks like check the website, it's right there smack on the Index, you can't miss it- Unless it doesn't load. It's been a while since I've had lyrics in the story, but these deserve a place, I mean really, perfect character fit. **

**This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill  
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will  
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain  
and a hundred percent reason to remember the name! **

**Now see, I don't really like the band Fort Minor, but that's just awesome. So anyway, thanks to who reviewed last chapter, damning to those who have never reviewed and all that. Enjoy the chapter; I know I'll enjoy it when we get to the Flash back of the Hanabi and Tenten conflict.**

**A special Thanks to _nobodykaires_ for betaing the first 3,700 words of this chapter. sadly she had better things to do once I had finished. Edits will be needed most likely, let's thank Yo in advance for the undoubtable mistakes he will point out.**

**Jon **

* * *

Naruto took his time as he walked towards the venue of the exam. He was in no real rush; he had another hour until he had to be there. That thought held in his mind for a few moments before another struck him. He had spent the last few hours walking around, why would he want to continue doing so?

With that Naruto picked up his pace slightly, turning his walk into a mild jog. Naruto found to his irritation, that since he had woken up, his muscles became irritated whenever he wasn't using them. It was as if they enjoyed the strain that constant movement put on them. Naruto had joked earlier with Hanabi that she had turned his muscles into masochists. She had rebuked the joke in the most unpleasant of ways

"_Now let's work on the rest of you."_

Luckily for Naruto, she had not taken it upon herself to make the joke come to life. Instead she had acted accordingly to her own regime and increased the amount of time Naruto had spent exercising the various parts of his body.

Hanabi wasn't too impressed when he bleached her hair by 'accident' though, for some strange reason. Although he had to admit, she looked nice as a blond- Which came back in the end to bite him in the ass; she had repeated the prank on him, except with Black hair dye. It had taken him forever to get it out and she had teased him mercilessly the entire time.

Naruto began to slow down as he rounded the last corner before the building, he had no idea how they would react if he came running towards them, and they'd probably think he was attacking them, which would be a pain in the ass to explain if everyone decided it was time for a Battle Royal.

Naruto frowned for a moment as he stared at the number of people outside of the building. After a moment he began to take a good look at the various people. Three people caught his eye above all others. They were all wearing the same outfits, his eyes flickered to their headbands for a moment and he caught sight of the insignia of the Mist. There was nothing truly special about them, but what really caught his attention were the umbrellas upon their backs.

As casually as he was able to, Naruto began walking towards the three man team, taking special care to ignore the various stares he was attracting. His gaze remained fixed upon the shortest man, selectively ignoring another team next to them, who seemed to be from the same village.

"Hi, I'm Naruto, may I ask you something?" Naruto said brightly.

The Ninjas around him were caught off guard by his tone of voice. It was uncommon for anyone from another village to speak to each other, and even then it was even rarer for them to have such a tone.

"What do you want?" the stubbiest man questioned cautiously.

Naruto simply smiled at his tone, he had expected them to be untrusting, even he was feeling slightly uncomfortable with talking to the ninja, but it did not stop him from being friendly.

"Nothing really, I just saw the umbrellas on your backs and was wondering were you expecting it to rain?" he asked innocently.

Naruto's question and tone instantly put the three ninja's wielding the Umbrella's off guard. Never before had anyone asked them something so naïve. The only one not wearing a hat released a bark of laughter.

"Yeah kid, that's what they are for."

Those near Naruto and the three Mist shinobi who knew what the Umbrellas were for tried valiantly to hide the expression of amusement upon their faces, being ninja they succeeded easily. Naruto nodded thoughtfully before smiling once again to the shortest Mist ninja.

"Cool, I guess, I'll talk to you later maybe, I need to go find someone." Naruto exclaimed as he waved a single time to the three ninja. Around him the Ninjas were stupefied by the friendly attitude of the blond haired boy.

"Naruto-san!" a bright voice called out from the right of Naruto.

Glancing towards the source, Naruto was surprised to find three familiar people standing side by side. His eyes were drawn automatically to the person on the right. Naruto stared at a green clad Lee as stunned as the people he had met moments before were. He barely moved as he watched Lee, Tenten and Hanabi approach him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could hear Tenten speaking;

"I told you he would be shocked." She murmured to Hanabi as she glanced to Naruto.

It took a few moments for Naruto to return to normal while still in view of Lee's fashion statement. Shaking his head Naruto shook off the last remnants of Lee induced shock.

"The hell?" he asked as he turned to Tenten and Hanabi.

"Is he your Sensei's clone or something?" Naruto demanded to know loudly.

He unknowingly drew the attention off all the shinobi waiting for the doors to open. Hanabi seemed to be the only person to notice, and answered accordingly.

"I'm not sure any longer, after everything we have seen he just may be." Hanabi said as she glanced to Lee just in time to see his face 'crack'

"I am my own person!" Lee shouted loudly as he stomped his foot against the ground.

For a moment Naruto thought he could feel the ground tremor, he quickly pushed the thought aside as he smiled at Lee.

"How have you been?" Naruto asked trying to make conversation.

Lee instantly brightened.

"I have been THE EPITOME OF YOUTH! I am glad you have asked, My Eternal-undying-Rival!" Naruto for the second time in less then ten minutes had been stunned, it quickly faded away. It was not as much of a shock as the Spandex. Naruto turned back to Tenten and Hanabi before arching his right eyebrow slightly. Tenten saw it as her place to explain.

"A month after…When your team got back Gai-sensei decided it was time for Lee to increase his weights again and use his specialised training clothes." She glanced at Lee for a moment before leaning close to Naruto and whispering in his ear; "To tell you the truth he has gotten a lot stronger, I'm not sure whether it is the weights, the suit or both."

Just as Naruto leaned away from Tenten, he felt a pair of teeth sink into his ear for a moment. He flinched away and glared at Tenten, only to find her innocently staring at him. Sparing Hanabi a quick glance, he was surprised to find her looking calmly at both him and Tenten, even if slightly agitated.

It caused Naruto to pause and wonder, over the last month every time Tenten had come near him Hanabi would begin to glare at Tenten; what had changed between them before, he wondered. He did not have long to stew with his thoughts as yet another familiar voice called out to him.

"Naruto-kun!" cried a feminine voice from behind the three older Genin.

Glancing between Tenten and Hanabi's shoulder's Naruto caught a glimpse of pale blond hair. Ino was slowly making her way towards them with her team-mates; Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. A fond smile appeared on Naruto's lips as he remembered the time he had spent in the Academy. While Sasuke had been his best-friend, he was by no means lacking with in the area with the others- Besides Shino, for some reason the boy wouldn't open up.

Hanabi nodded to Naruto blankly as she walked away, both Tenten and Lee sent Naruto a smile each as they followed Hanabi to wherever she was heading.

Naruto turned his eyes back to Team eight and raised his hand to wave to them, there however was no wave, he simply held his hand up in the air for a moment before dropping it to his side. Both Shikamaru and Chouji repeated the small action before sending Naruto a lazy smile.

"You're Sensei sent you here also? Don't die." Shikamaru asked after a moment of silence.

Naruto chuckled lightly at the annoyance in his friends' voice.

"No, I wanted to come, after he told me, that is."

Shikamaru stared at Naruto bemusedly, just as he was about to speak again, Ino decided that it was her turn to speak.

"Isn't it exciting?" she asked happily as she motioned around them, "The chance to become a Chuunin, that is." She trailed of into silence as she searched the groups of people.

"Have you seen Sakura? I want to rub it in her face if she is here." Naruto simply blinked as Ino stared at him expectantly. The expectation soon turned to annoyance as Naruto remained silent.

"Fine, don't answer me!" she huffed angrily as she began to walk away. Both Shikamaru and Chouji sighed haggardly and glared at Naruto.

"Man, why did you have to get her angry? Now we'll have to listen to her complain."

Naruto shrugged lightly at Shikamaru's complaint, not bothering to respond to such a Shikamaru-like comment.

"Where are Sasuke and Hinata?" Chouji wondered out loud.

"They'll be here eventually; they messed up this morning when Kakashi decided to test us." Naruto explained as he glanced around the various entrances into the area in front of the main building.

Shikamaru and Chouji both nodded sagely before glancing over Naruto's shoulder.

"We better go before Ino provokes some of the other Genins." Shikamaru muttered blandly.

Naruto just nodded as they both left, deep down he felt a sinking feeling, there wasn't much time left before the exam, were Sasuke and Hinata going to show up at the last minute, he wondered.

"Sasuke will probably be here, stop whining Sakura." growled a voice from Naruto's right.

He did not even have to think for a moment to guess who it was. A smirk began to form upon Naruto's lips as he remembered the face of the person who the voice belonged to.

"Hey, Kiba how has your sister been?" he asked loudly.

Kiba's voice cut off mid-comment, Naruto could almost feel the glare burning into the side of his head.

"How do you know my sister, Naruto?" Kiba asked as he moved into Naruto's line of sight.

Smiling Naruto turned to face Kiba. He nodded to Shino for a moment in greeting before a shimmer of dislike shimmered through his eyes for a split second upon the sight of Sakura. A nod to Sakura and Naruto turned his head back to Kiba.

"One of her dog's almost mauled me in a mission; I guess not every canine can be as tame as Akamaru, eh?"

Kiba smiled for a moment before a small shift in his jacket had Akamaru burst out from his collar, barking towards Naruto. The small white dog continued to bark for a few more seconds before it fell silent. As Kiba was about to translate Naruto spoke once again.

"Yeah, I know Akamaru; you're a wild beast aren't you?" Naruto asked jokingly.

Akamaru yipped in approval before slipping back down into Kiba's jacket. Kiba stared at Naruto for a moment before shaking his head and laughing.

"For a moment I actually thought you could understand him." Kiba stated before smiling to Naruto. "Where is Hinata-Chan and The Uchiha?"

At the moment of hearing 'Uchiha' Sakura interrupted whatever Naruto would have said.

"Where is Sasuke-kun?" Sakura demanded no know, stepping closer to Naruto and glaring into his eyes. Naruto frowned slightly before opening his mouth to speak. Only to be stopped yet again.

"Well, If it isn't Sakura." stated a voice from Naruto's left.

It seemed Ino was back again, and just in time to meet Sakura. Naruto simply stepped back as Sakura's glare shifted from him to Ino. Although it would most likely have been something to watch, Naruto really couldn't stomach Sakura's Proclamations of love and Ino mocking her feelings. Glancing behind Ino, Naruto wasn't surprised to see Shikamaru and Chouji lounging around and staring up at the sky.

'_It seems all of us are here, except Sasuke and Hinata-Chan.'_

Naruto frowned as a click echoed from the building and the door's swung open. Instantly the Genin began to file into the building. He nodded to his friends as they glanced back to him after looking to the door.

"I'll just wait for them." explained Naruto at the bemused smile upon Shikamaru's lips. His friend nodded lazily before turning towards the building and following Ino, who had already begun to walk towards the building.

"If they take to long, do not hesitate to enter the building, or you will miss your chance to take the test." said Shino quietly as he stared at Naruto through his glasses. Naruto blinked for a moment before smiling at his Ex-class-mate.

"I'm sure they won't be that long." Naruto said casually.

Shino inclined his head to Naruto for a moment before beginning to walk towards the exam building. Kiba stood for a moment, flashing Naruto a roguish smile before following after the Aburame. Sakura was the last person standing with Naruto, and it freaked him out slightly, he had assumed she would have followed her team-mates. The answer quickly became apparent in Naruto's mind.

'_She's conflicted whether to wait for Sasuke or follow her team.'_

Naruto decided to do the best thing for both her team and his own.

"When Sasuke shows up I will tell him you were waiting for him, but you had to leave for the exam, alright?"

Sakura nodded gratefully, giving Naruto a small smile before beginning to run after her team-mates. Naruto watched her back until she entered the building; a sigh escaped his lips as he looked around. Were they trying to be fashionably late, Naruto wondered as he glanced around for what seemed like the tenth time.

The sound of footsteps caught Naruto's attention, quickly he span around, to find Sasuke and Hinata walking casually towards him. He saw red instantly.

"Where have you two been!" Naruto demanded to know.

Both Sasuke and Hinata stared at him in confusion for a moment, before Hinata decided to answer.

"Kakashi-sensei told us we should relax before the exam and that we did not have to be exactly on time." Hinata explained as if it were obvious.

Naruto's left eyebrow twitched irritably, taking three deep breaths he calmed himself down. He was agitated beyond belief; they had been taking their time eating, while he had been worried whether or not they would make it to the exam on time. He couldn't completely blame them if Kakashi had actually told them that, but it didn't misdirect his ire.

"Hinata-sama, you are extremely late, all the other examinees have already entered the building, if we are lucky we will still be able to partake in the exam." Naruto explained coldly as he turned towards the building and started to walk rigidly.

Hinata opened her mouth to respond, she felt hurt by Naruto's changed in addressing her, Sasuke reached up to Hinata's shoulder and gripped it lightly, shaking his head as Hinata looked to him. Hinata continued to frown as both she and Sasuke followed after Naruto. Sasuke himself was feeling slightly hurt my association, had he talked, Naruto would have probably said something to irk him.

The first thing Naruto noticed as he entered the building was a sign standing in the middle of the large corridor.

**- Chuunin Exam Third Floor Room _301_**

Following the arrow Naruto's eyes landed on a staircase, without waiting for Hinata and Sasuke he began to climb. The moment his foot landed upon the fourth stair the world around him seemed to fall out of place. Glancing backwards, Naruto squinted his eyes; it looked like an image of the second floor was super imposed over the first floor.

The longer he stared down at it, the more the world seemed to fall out of place, Naruto's left eye twitched as a stinging feeling passed through his retina. Suddenly both Hinata and Sasuke stepped into view and stared up at him confused.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata quietly, she did not wish to raise his anger again.

Naruto shook his head slightly as he mumbled; "Nothing."

Slowly he began to climb the stairs again until they reached the next floor. He stopped again as he stared at the multitude of Genins. The frown deepened as he glanced at the windows and sign's designating the classrooms. Like before they seemed to be superimposed over an original image. Both Sasuke and Hinata walked past him and continued towards the room marked as '301'

'_Is this a Genjutsu?'_ Naruto asked himself.

'_It hasn't appeared this way before, but then Kakashi-sensei is the only person who has tried to use Genjutsu on me so far. Is it someone weaker then Kakashi-sensei? Is that why I can see through it?'_

Naruto's thoughts didn't linger on the subject, with a minute amount of Chakra; Naruto sought out whatever was the cause of the mirage-like scene around him. Suddenly it clicked, the image imposed over the world dissipated. Naruto's eyes landed on Sasuke and Hinata, they were already near the throng of people surrounding the now revealed '201' door. Naruto was about to call out for his two team-mates, but the idea was quickly squelched. If it were a test then he had no intention of alerting every other Genin team.

Quickly Naruto followed Sasuke and Hinata, pushing through the multitude of Genin in his way. He heard more then a fair share of growls and even a few yelps as he forced his way through. Finally he was in the 'clearing' in the middle of the group. Naruto's eyes landed on a peculiar scene. Lying on his back was Lee, rubbing his cheek. Glancing to the door Naruto was surprised to see two Konoha Genin guarding the door everyone seemed to want to enter.

Glancing to the surrounding crowd, Naruto was surprised to see Hanabi and Tenten standing silently, Hanabi's eyes made contact with his for a moment. As Naruto opened his mouth to ask what had happened she simply shook her head and brought her hand to her mouth, holding her index finger over it for a single moment. Naruto simply nodded and watched the rest of the scene play out. It was not long before Sasuke became sick of the bickering.

"You had best move aside and remove the Genjutsu covering this floor." Sasuke said casually as he started at both of the Genin with distain.

'_So he did notice it._' thought Naruto.

The noise in the room lowered slightly as the people watching the scene heard Sasuke's words. In the case it was everyone in the entire hallway. One of the 'Guard' Genin snorted.

"Seeing through it isn't enough" he stated blandly.

With that The Genin launched himself towards Sasuke, slicing his foot horizontally towards Sasuke's chest. At the instant The Genin had moved Sasuke himself had already raised his right foot to block the attack. A green blur shifted between the two attacks, instantly grappling onto the combatants' feet.

Sasuke's eyes widened as the 'weakling' who had been knocked down caught both his foot and the other Genins feet with apparent ease. Quickly, Sasuke retracted his foot and placed it back on the ground, his eyes all the while remained fixated on Lee's hand.

"Lee weren't you the one who said we should not bring attention to ourselves?" asked Tenten exasperatedly.

Naruto almost snorted; with or without the green spandex suit Lee would have attracted everyone's attention with his freaky eyebrows.

Hanabi sighed, beckoning to both her team-mates to follow her. Lee however stood still, gazing towards a certain pink haired Genin.

"But-"

"Now!" snapped Tenten.

Lee's shoulders sagged as he followed after his team-mates.

Sakura sighed in relief, for a moment she had thought that 'Lee' was going to talk to her. Glancing back to Sasuke she squealed in excitement and lunged at the raven haired member of Team Seven. Sakura's 'squeal' wasn't the only one heard. While Sakura was on Sasuke's right Ino was on his left. Both of the girl's had lunged at Sasuke at the same time. Sasuke in slow motion watched out of the corner's of his eyes as their arms ensnared around him. He soon found himself smothered in the arms of both girls.

Naruto couldn't help himself as he looked at the shell-shocked expression upon Sasukes face. Laughter rolled from his lips as he bent forwards and clutched his stomach, it was too much, Naruto's sides felt like they were going to split. And just as he had started laughing, he stopped. A sudden feeling within his stomach told him something bad was about to occur, it was not wrong.

His first clue to what was happening was the detachment of Ino from Sasuke. Both Sakura and Sasuke seemed to be relieved, but Sasuke's relief soon vanished as Sakura remained attached. Dread filled Naruto up to the brim as Ino spread her arms to her sides as she turned to Naruto. A look of pure horror appeared on Naruto's face as Ino launched herself at him.

He had no time to react; the pain in his stomach was still to strong for him to move quickly. Ino's body slammed into Naruto's knocking him backwards off his feet. Her arms slipped around his neck, allowing her to fall with him as her cushion. Naruto grimaced as the floor rose up to meet his back. His eyes widened as Ino's arms around his neck continued to tighten, slowly cutting off his air.

He was unable to think clearly, his arms and legs were flailing around wildly, trying to dislodge Ino from his body. Vaguely he heard a choking sound, but paid little attention to it the need for air was stronger then his curiosity. After what seemed like a millennia, Ino detached herself from Naruto and rose from the ground, smiling down at Naruto in satisfaction. As Naruto slowly managed to return his breathing to its normal level he glanced to his team-mates, he was surprised to find that Kiba was _trying_ to forcibly restrain Hinata who looked ready to strangle either him or Ino… or maybe both.

Slowly Naruto began to rise to his feet, his eyes remained on Hinata uncertainly, but to his relief she had calmed down and Kiba was no longer holding her back. Instead he was glancing down at his reddened hands, wondering how Hinata could muster that much strength. Shino silently nodded to his team-mates and began to walk towards the Staircase, intent on going up a level to the _proper_ room.

"Well we had better go!" stated Ino happily as she turned away from Naruto and began to walk away, slowly Shikamaru and Chouji followed after her, sighing and in Shikamaru's case sending Naruto a bemused smirk. Naruto could almost translate what it meant from the silence.

_Troublesome, isn't she?_

Naruto couldn't help but agree completely as he turned back to his team-mates. Hinata was back to normal, although her eyes were slightly more focused then previously, Sasuke on the other hand was just relieved to no longer have anyone touching him. Reaching to the back of his head, Naruto dug his fingers into his scalp, scratching it slightly as a nervous laugh tore from his lips.

"Well, shall we mosey?" Naruto asked casually.

Both Hinata and Sasuke nodded after a moment, 'Mosey' was a foreign word to them. It did not take Team seven long before they arrived outside the real room 301. Casually Naruto pushed open the door and entered the room, outside he appeared calm, but inside he was nervous. The moment he had entered the room dozens upon dozens of eyes had glared at him. It was enough to make him shudder lightly.

Silently they moved towards their friends, they were all standing in a group looking towards a single person, instantly the face clicker.

"Kabuto-san!" exclaimed Naruto shocked.

He shouldn't have been shocked, Kabuto was the sent before him, he may have been brought back with him. Or if he had managed to escape, then he may have saved him.

Confusion flickered on Kabuto's face a moment before his eyes landed on Naruto's, instantly a warm smile paraded itself onto Kabuto's visage. Quietly he raised his hand and waved at Naruto, beckoning him to join them after a moment.

"It's great to see you alive and well Naruto-kun." stated Kabuto happily. Quickly his happiness turned to worry. "Are you alright? With the condition you were in I thought you would still be in hospital, why are you here, surely you aren't going to participate?" as he went on Kabuto's tone changed from worry to condescending. Naruto failed to notice as he basked in his older _friends_ concern.

"I'm alright; I've been training for the last month. I'm here to become a Chuunin what else?" Naruto shrugged lightly at the end.

"Condition?" asked Kiba confusedly, eyeing Naruto appraisingly.

Instantly Hinata, Sasuke, and Ino froze. Hinata would have kicked herself if they weren't in public. Ino had not known a month prior that Naruto had been captured by the enemy. Why would anyone else but those directly involved know about it now?

"…"

No one spoke for a few moments, before Kabuto broke it, into millions of dull pointless pieces which will now be cast forever from your mind because they have nothing major to do with this chapter and just add to the words which end up making you think it is awesome.

"Back to what we were talking about before, I have information on these cards,-" Kabuto started to say once again before he was cut off.

"Oh, can I tell them, Kabuto-san?" Naruto interrupted casually, he did not even notice the flash of annoyance that passed through Kabuto's eyes before a smile took place and he nodded.

"The cards may look blank, but that's because he hasn't put Chakra in them, once he does that it can tell you all kinds of stuff, he even has information on separate ninja." Naruto explained to the people who were paying attention. In the groups those who weren't paying attention soon were anything to give them an advantage over all the seasoned Genin in the room they would take. Sasuke was the first and only to take up the advantage.

"Have you got anything on Lee?"

Naruto had to bite back a laugh, Sasuke wanted to know about _Lee_? Kabuto however wasn't quite sure who Sasuke was referring to.

"Which Lee? Jet Lee? Gisei **(Pseudo)** Lee? Rock Lee?" Kabuto's lips twitched slightly at the last name.

Naruto sighed softly.

"He wants to know about Rock Lee."

Kabuto nodded and he began to shuffle through his deck of cards. After a few moments he slid a card out of the pile and held it out to Sasuke. Instantly the Uchiha took the card and scanned over the information. Turning back to Naruto Kabuto made a quick glance into the crowd.

"Naruto-kun, do you remember the mission we did together? It seems the Sound took up the exam offer, they have a team here." Kabuto stated as he pointed over Naruto's shoulder to a group of three Genins bearing a musical note upon their forehead protectors.

"They're still a minor village so they didn't have many teams to send, I don't really have much information on them still." Kabuto remarked amusedly.

No one in the group noticed the group of sound Genins shifting their eyes towards them, or the angered twitch in the mummified boy's left eye. His team mates seemed to take the comment slightly better however.

"The Hidden Sound is a Minor village?" repeated the mummy's team-mate, he had spiky black hair. Next to him a girl with long black hair smirked as she glanced at the group out of the corner of her eye.

"Let's play with them a little bit…" she murmured blankly, the only hint of emotion in her was the glint in the corner of her eye, hinting towards sadistic tendencies.

"Heh, let's help him add to his data…That Hidden Sound shinobi can be… quite vicious."

With that the white wrapped Sound Genin brought his right arm up into common view, from inside his loose sleeves shirt he slid out a grate like speaker. Smirking to himself the Genin launched himself towards the group of Konoha Genins intent on striking down the grey haired Genin who had insulted his village.

His Spiky haired team-mate took to the air, launching two Kunai towards Kabuto's shoulders. In a split second Kabuto jumped backwards, avoiding both weapons, while his attention was preoccupied the mummy-like-Genin burst from the crowds of Genin, thrusting his right arm towards Kabuto's head.

While the sound Genin was fast Kabuto's reflexes were faster, at the last moment he leaned backwards, avoiding the attack aimed at his face. Kabuto's eyes widened and after a moment his glasses cracked. It wasn't long before Kabuto was upon his knees exhuming the contents of his stomach onto the ground.

Around him the Konoha rookie Genins stared in shock, they had seen him dodge it, what had happened? Naruto and Sasuke were the first to recover and analysed the situation. Naruto's eyes landed on the metal instrument strapped to the Genins arm. Biting back a flippant comment Naruto paid special attention to the wholes drilled into the object.

The Sound Genins smirked as they stood before the Konoha Genins. They exuded an aura of confidence as they stared down at Kabuto, who had begun to recover from their attack.

"That was uncalled for, you had no right." Naruto frowned light as he reprimanded them.

Neither of the boys in the sound team took well to being told what they could and could not do by someone of the same rank, and not even from their own village. As they were about to rebuke Naruto's comment, the falls fell short of their lips. Naruto's eyes had shifted slightly, no longer were they the pure innocent blue, instead they had become slightly green, the pupil had shifted slightly, elongated. Through the pupil there were lines of yellow, unmistakably.

Terror had begun to surface in the three Genin, but just as it had appeared, Naruto's eyes returned to the baby blue they had been prior. For a moment the Sound Genins remained stunned, before placing it down to a trick of the light.

An explosion of smoke and bad smelling gases from the other end of the room drew everyone's attention from the dispute.

"Quiet down you worthless bastards!" snarled someone from beyond the smoke.

Slowly the smoke dispersed, revealing a man in a black trench coat, in front of a large group of Konoha ninja. Silence reigned in the room as all the Genins stared at the mans face. Scars were etched over his entire face, not entirely disfiguring but still enough to mar his appearance.

"Thanks for waiting." He spoke coldly as he stared over the vast quantity of Genins. "I am Morino Ibiki, The examiner for the Chuunin selection Exam's first test." He informed them. His eyes were suddenly drawn to the back.

The rookie Genin froze as his cold black eyes stared towards them, only to sigh in relief as he spoke.

"Hidden Sound Guys, Stop doing as you please before the exam." He paused for a moment, glaring into their eyes. "Do you want to fail already?" he asked coldly.

The Genin wrapped in bandages was quick to answer the question.

"I apologize… This is our first time… We got a bit carried away." He did not look at all sorry as he glared uncertainly at the older and more experienced man.

Ibiki's eye twitched almost unnoticeably.

"Here is a good opportunity to say this; there will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner, Even if permission is granted killing your opponent will not be tolerated." He paused once again, his eyes singling out a few Genin in the room. "Those pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately, do I make myself clear?"

There was no murmur of affirmation or decline in the room as they all stared at the scared man. Naruto soon stopped paying attention to the words being said by the Konoha examiner. His mind was more focused on the appearance of the man; the multitude of visible scars reminded him of something, something that he couldn't remember. The more he thought about it, the more he found his mind twinging in pain. Naruto couldn't decide his course of action.

Should he follow the feeling, and risk not being able to participate in the exam? The idea was instantly cut out, No matter what it was it did not have enough hold to sway his chance at becoming a Chuunin, stepping one step closer to becoming an Anbu. Everyone in the room began to move to the front, taking what seemed to be a slip of paper labelled with a number from Ibiki.

Robotically he followed Sasuke and Hinata to the front, and took one of the slips.

'**Row Five, Seat Seven.**' Naruto read off the piece of paper. Quickly he deduced the position he needed to take in the room and did so. He was quite surprised when Hinata took the seat next to his, he had expected Sasuke to also take a seat close to him, but the fates were not helpful. Sasuke was seated two rows in front.

"Naruto-kun," she whispered softly, causing Naruto to glance to her. "Let's do our best." Naruto gifted Hinata with a small smile as he nodded, before returning his attention to the front of the room.

Once everyone was seated the examiners began to hand out the test sheets. No one spoke as they received their paper; instead their eyes were focused upon the front of the room, where Ibiki was writing on the Board.

"First Rule, you will start off with ten points, this test uses a subtraction system, basically if you answer all the questions correctly you keep your ten points, but say if you miss three questions you lose three points and will have seven."

"Second Rule, This is a team test, whether you pass or not will be determined by the combined score of your team-mates. So each team will compete to see how many points they can hold on to from the initial team total of 30."

Naruto heard the scrapings of a chair against the wooden floor from behind him. But it seemed the person decided to rethink their actions and sit back down. Naruto strained his ears lightly and he was able to pick up the mutterings of the person.

"_It doesn't make sense…"_ the voice clicked quickly in Naruto's head, It was Sakura, she didn't understand the test system, Naruto guessed.

"The Third Rule is that during the exam… Anyone caught by the testing officers doing sneaky activities, namely cheating… Will have 2 points subtracted for every offence. So there will be some who will lose all their points during the exam and be asked to leave."

"We'll have our eyes on you guys." Stated on of the Examiner's who was reclining in his chair. The smirk upon his lips widened as he saw the beginnings of anxiety in the eyes of a few Genin.

"Realize that the pathetic ones that get caught cheating will be destroying themselves. As Shinobi trying to achieve the level of Chuunin; Be Proud Ninja."

"And The Final Rule, Those that lose all their initial points during the test and those that don't answer any question correctly…" Ibiki paused as he stared out over all the Genin.

"…Will be failed along with their two team-mates."

The room was filled with cries of shock and outraged, but they were quickly squelched

"The exam will last one hour; Begin!" Ibiki informed and demanded.

The room was filled with the flicking of paper as everyone began to work on their tests.

Naruto's eyes quickly went straight to the first question.

'_A Cryptogram'_ Naruto thought to himself as he started down at the jumbled up word, no matter how much he stared at it no direct solution came to mind. It would take him at least half an hour to decrypt it entirely. With that in mind he slid his eyes down to the next question.

'_Line B, seen in the picture if the greatest possible distance Shinobi…can throw his shuriken from a tree of 7 meters... For enemies who appear within the circumference of the shuriken range explain the attack options using this distance. Show your work._

Naruto snorted lightly as his eyes scanned the rest of the questions. They were all the same, almost impossible to answer, except the tenth question.

_**Question 10**_

_**This question will be revealed 45 minutes after the test begins. Listen to the examiner closely before answering.**_

A sigh escaped Naruto's lips, even if he wasn't able to answer most of the questions, he would at least be able to answer the last question, which meant they would still be able to pass, assuming both his team-mates didn't fail…

Glancing to Hinata, Naruto was surprised to find that she had the tell-tale signs of the Byakugan surrounding her eyes, once again an image seemed to be super imposed over the top; it looked as if the skin around her eyes was normal.

Glancing down to Sasuke, Naruto's wasn't surprised to see that Sasuke had come to the same conclusion. The irritated look Sasuke had given the teachers at the academy was present on his face. Brilliant was something that few people were born with and many people took for granted. Brilliance was what hit Naruto as he glanced to Hinata for a second time.

"_Hinata."_ Naruto whispered, barely moving his lips.

Hinata tensed for a moment before relaxing, she whispered back.

"_What?"_

Naruto paused for a moment before making the decision.

"_It's impossible for us to pass this test without cheating, neither I not Sasuke have any sure fire means of cheating, But I have an idea, when I cough next begin writing again, ad after you are finished go over the first few, alright?"_

Hinata's nod was almost unperceivable.

Naruto took a few calming breaths, he had to do it right the first time, or else they'd know what to look for, and they _would_ fail. He wasn't even sure it would work. Slowly, Naruto began to push a small amount of Chakra towards Sasuke, Gathering it around his right hand. He paused for a moment before he twitched his hand, and just out of sync Sasuke's hand also twitched. For a moment the Uchiha was alarmed, but soon his right hand shifted into a different sign; A thumbs up.

Sasuke would have been annoyed beyond belief, if he had not been at a loss to how to get the answers. A smile lit up upon his face as he stared at his hand, he could feel the lingering essence of Naruto's Chakra pushing gently down upon his individual finger's and muscles.

Naruto sighed in relief, it had worked, No one had noticed except Sasuke. Slowly Naruto drew a small amount of Chakra from his right hand and pushed it gently towards Hinata's right hand. This was the tricky part, if he didn't work the Chakra bonds exactly right the idea would back fire.

Naruto bit his lip lightly as he twitched his thumb slightly, but to his satisfaction, his hand did not move a bit, that is until Hinata shifted her hand across the desk slightly. Trying to hide the smirk upon his face Naruto brought his left hand up to his lips and coughed into it. After a few moments his hand began to move again, going towards his piece of paper and beginning to write. He did not need to glance towards Hinata to know that she was writing.

Leaning over his test, Naruto made sure to place his body into a neutral position; He did not try to hide the test, nor did eh leave it overly exposed. Glancing down to Sasuke quickly, Naruto saw that Sasuke had assumed a similar position, 'trying' to hide his answers from the people around him.

Naruto smiled inwardly, it was fool proof now, as long as none of the examiners were able to look at the three of them at once it would be a breeze to past the test. He'd have to buy Hinata something or do something for her after the exam; she had really saved his and Sasukes bacon.

It was not long before his sheet was filled with the answers to the questions. Finally Naruto disengaged the technique, first from Sasuke and then from Hinata, giving both him and Sasuke control over their right hand once again. While he could have gone to sleep, Naruto decided to past the time until the tenth and final question by reading through the answer's Hinata had provided him with.

Even after reading and re-reading the answer's Naruto found they made little sense normally, but putting them into context brought out the easiest way to understand them.

"Okay, now we will begin the Tenth question." stated Ibiki calmly.

Naruto snapped his head up and focused on the tall examiner, his focus didn't last long, many people had disappeared from the room, more then he had suspected would be caught cheating.

"I'll now explain. These are the rules of desperation." Ibiki's gaze shifted over a large number of the Genin, singling once again a few select Genin.

"For this tenth question, you must decide whether or not you will take it."

"What happens if we choose not to?" asked Temari, from how her voice sounded, Naruto guessed she was more then _slightly_ agitated.

"If you choose not to, your points will be reduced to zero..." Ibiki began calmly, before he began to raise his voice, "You fail, along with your two team-mates."

Naruto's left eye twitched agitatedly, but he waited, there had to be more to it, he reasoned.

"Then of course we will decide to take the question!" shouted a generic Genin from no specific village.

Ibiki's face morphed into an amused smile; it was a terrifying sight combined with the scars running over his mouth.

"If you choose to take it and answer incorrectly… That person will lose the right to ever take the Chuunin selection exam again."

"What kind of stupid rule is that!" snarled Kiba angrily "There are guys here who have taken the exam before!"

The disturbing sound of Ibiki laughing filled the room, slowly it faded away.

"You guy's were unlucky, this year it's my rules. But I am giving you a way out. Those that aren't confident can choose not to take it and try again next year." Ibiki's face broke out into a smirk.

"Now let's begin, the tenth question." He stated calmly as he stared at the depleted sea of Genins which soon would decline further in population.

Naruto clenched his fists as his mind rolled over his choices. He could Give up, and take the exam next time, but that would fail both Sasuke and Hinata as well, Sasuke for one would never forgive him. The second option was as bad, if he failed to answer the question correctly then he would be a Genin forever.

He almost snorted, being a Genin for the rest of his life wouldn't be too bad, he'd probably be the first ever Genin Anbu. That would have to be a record, and unless someone became an Anbu as an Academy student- Which was **impossible** in his books, he'd have that to be remembered by in the Anbu ranks.

Suddenly his mind became set on the idea, forever being remembered as the only Genin to ever become an Anbu, it would be perfect, straight from Genin to Anbu, the first and last in the world. Naruto's mind glossed over the idea, polishing it until it was as bright as a star.

It was decided, he would fail the question intentionally.

Glancing to Hinata, his eyes widened in surprise as he saw her hand slowly rise from the table. Quickly he reached across to her hand and clasped hers tightly.

"_Genin is only a title, don't worry, I'm right here, I won't let you fail Hinata-sam-CHAN."_

Naruto watched in relief as Hinata turned to him and gifted him with a small smile.

Had he had the Byakugan Naruto would have noticed two sets of eyes narrow slightly as he clasped her hand.

Slowly but surely individual members began to raise their hand and quit. Naruto watched as hand after hand rose into the air, and every time three people had to leave. The clock ticked on, until finally an hour had passed.

"To the 78 that remain congratulations on passing the first test."

Everyone in the room remained still as they stared at Ibiki; none of them had been able to instantly process the words that spilt from his mouth. Sakura was the first to comprehend the words.

"Wait…what do you mean? We already pass? What about the tenth question?" she rambled out while she stared into Ibiki's eyes, still unsure of what she had heard.

Ibiki's face broke out into a true smile as he looked back to Sakura.

"There never was such a thing. Or you could say that those two choices were the tenth question."

"Hey! Then what were the first nine questions for- They were pointless then!" Temari all but yelled as she glared at the scarred man.

"They were not pointless, they had already served their purpose." stated Ibiki calmly as he glanced at Temari.

Temari's face faltered slightly as she began to think of the 'purpose' of the questions.

"To test your individual information gathering ability... that purpose"

Uncertainty appeared on Temari's face.

'_He's suddenly changed personalities…information gathering?'_

Slowly Ibiki reached towards his head. He gripped the front of his head cap and slowly pulled upwards, dislodging it from its place upon his head. Silence once again returned to the room as every Genin took in the sight of Ibiki's head.

The top of his head was marred with burns, screw holes and scars. Everyone instantly knew the cause; Torture

"Because in times, information is more important than life… and on missions and the battlefield people risk their lives to get their hands on it. If a third party or enemy notices you, there is no guarantee the information will be accurate."

As Ibiki began to tie the piece of clothing back onto his ehad he continued to speak.

"I want you to remember this; important information in your hands can be a power weapon for your comrades and for the village, so we had you gather information through cheating. His clearly separated those that did not have the right abilities."

Temari huffed lightly.

"But I still don't understand the question."

Ibiki sighed lightly.

"But the Tenth question is the true purpose of this test. Let me explain, the 'Take it' or 'not take it' decision. Obviously these were painful choices; those who choose the latter along with their team-mates those who choose to take it could lose the chance to ever take the test again, a true leap of faith."

Ibiki paused for a moment as he stared directly at Naruto. His eyes remained latched onto his as he continued speaking.

"Those who can't put their destinies on the line, who cling to the uncertain future of 'There's always next year' and then walk away from their chance… Those pieces of trash who can only make such cowardly choices don't have the right to become a Chuunin that's how I feel."

Ibiki slowly drifted his eyes away from Naruto and viewed the room at large once again.

"You have made it through the entrance, The First test of the Chuunin selection is now finished, I wish you guys luck."

As Ibiki finished speaking a window to the left side of the room exploded as through it barrelled a blur of cream purple and black. The shards of glass sprayed over the room showering the Genin and examiners closet to the window. Naruto watched in fascination as two kunai dug into the roof, and from them a banner hung.

Naruto's eyes however never found the tapestry like banner; his eyes were stuck on the newly entered person. He'd be the first to admit that he had never seen anyone like her, her outfit however made him wish he had. Quickly Naruto shook the thoughts out of his head as the woman's eyes landed on his own.

"I am the Examiner for the second test, Mitarashi Anko!" the woman now identified as Mitarashi Anko shouted. "Now let's go! Follow me!"

"Bad timing." Remarked Ibiki as he pushed the banner out of his way. Anko flushed lightly. Quickly she turned her attention to the Genin before as quickly turning back to Ibiki.

"Seventy Eight? You left **_twenty six _**teams? The test was too easy this time!" she criticised

Ibiki however did not rise to take the bait, instead he shrugged lightly.

"There weer quite a few outstanding ones."

Disappointed that her bait had not been taken, Anko turned her attention back to the still sizable group of Genins.

"Bah that's fine I'll at least cut them in half in the second test."

More then a few people tensed at Anko's words, Naruto himself was one of them, but as quickly as he tensed he relaxed, there was no reason to show any sign of discomfort, she was an examiner, there was only a small chance she would take her comment from metaphor to Literal.

Yet again Anko's eyes landed on Naruto's. In his eyes she saw a flicker of uncertainty, and decided to capitalize on it, after all, she couldn't have the Genins not being afraid, could she? Anko licked her lips lightly.

"Ahhh, I'm getting excited."

Naruto's left eye twitched as Anko's eyes remained on his. In the back of his mind he could feel something coming from her, something he should have remembered; a tattoo like pattern upon someone's skin.

"I'll explain everyone once we've changed places, follow me."

As Anko spoke a dark look clouded over her face, it put the Genins in the room on edge.

* * *

**So, It was hot today thus I am going to have a shower because I smell bad.**


	23. The Snake Pit Forest

**I'm sure more then a few people were anxious to see The Orochimaru confrontation and Naruto's reaction. Well here it is. less then a week after the release of the last chapter, as per usual. **

**Gorge of Water _Hazama dashihoudai_**

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**Ground Storm _Guraundozero Boufu_**

**Static Hold _Kuuden Hoorudo_**

**Those are the two mentioned attacks in this I think. **

**_Nigenteki Chakra tama_ Is a modification of _Hazama dashihoudai_. I'll probably put the techniques used so far in the story ont he website today if I can be bothered. This one is quite unpolished. Finished spell checked and posted only. My Apologies for any mental grief on your behalf if the errors are crippling.**

**NOTE: Unless this chapter receives more reviews then Intertwined I'm going to work on it on Tuesday and post when it hits 7,000ish. Today is Sunday, it is Six thirty PM In other words, I'm taking a day off tomorrow to play some games. As much as writing is enjoyable, I need to spend some time with my other hobbies.**

* * *

It was decided between team seven silently, that they would stick to the back of the group of Genins following the second examiner. The first test had been **boring and a complete waste of time** as far as they were each concern. If Anko was anything to go by, the second test would be a lot more…unique, then the first. 

Sasuke was biding his time; he didn't know how he was going to thank Naruto, it was something that was annoying him immensely. Although he would have found a way to get the answer's in the end, Naruto had saved him a bit of time. They were lagging behind the main group, Sasuke noticed except for the group which had the boy who had stopped both his kick and the Genin who was guarding room 201.

He did not know what to do; his instincts were roaring at him, telling him to challenge the person to a fight, to prove that he was better then them. But Kakashi's lecture was still stuck in his mind. Was he really that reckless? His instincts were telling him no, but they were telling him to challenge the freak in green. He couldn't trust them. Not when they were telling him to fight just before an unknown exam.

"Welcome to the arena for the second test, Practice Arena 44 also known as… The forest of eternal pain, death, torture, and fighting…I mean, Death, just Death, The Forest of Death."

Sasuke snapped his head up. His mouth fell agape, in front of him was what could only be described as the most over grown forest he had ever seen. From where he stood on the ground he could not even see ten meters into the undergrowth. The canopy was that thick. A quick glance to the base line allowed him to glance at the high fence surrounding it.

'_This is where the exam will be!'_ he thought wildly, before claming down, his outwards appearance seemed as stoic as normal. He was one of the few that remained that way. A glance to his sides told him that both Naruto and Hinata were in awe of the sheer sight of the entrance.

"Here is the 'deal." shouted Anko, "Each team will get either a Heaven or Earth scroll. Your objective is to arrive at the tower in the middle of the area within five days. While killing is allowed it is also frowned upon. Due to that each of you will be receiving a sheet in a moment. It is so I don't get shit for you dying, alright?"

A murmur of consent rippled through the crowd.

Sasuke snorted lightly as he turned to Naruto.

"It'd be worth it to not sign the sheet and die just to get her in trouble, eh?" he whispered to Naruto. Naruto smirked for a moment, before his face faltered.

As quick as lightning **(Exaggeration)** Anko whipped her hand towards Sasuke, sending a single Kunai slicing through the air towards his head. In an instant all three members of Team seven were alert and on guard. Sasuke was the first; quickly he reached into his own weapons pouch and prepared to deflect the incoming projectile. On Naruto's other side, Hinata had already activated her Byakugan and was in the Gentle Fist stance, her eyes were locked on Anko's position.

Naruto's disposition remained mostly unchanged. He simply raised his hand up into the air and pointed it towards the blur of metal which was the kunai. The blur slowed down dramatically as it got closer to Sasuke, to the point of him being able to snatch it out of the air.

"Naruto-kun!" exclaimed Hinata.

It took Naruto a few moments to realise why, as he turned his ehad towards Hinata he felt the edge of cold metal pressing against his throat. He instantly froze, he had no idea how someone had gotten behind him without him noticing until Hinata had shouted.

"You're pretty good for a Genin, I didn't realise that anyone was able to do such an elegant manipulation of Chakra outside their own body." Anko breathed into his ear as she trailed the edge of the Kunai around from the right side of his throat to the left.

Naruto bit down on his tongue, he did not think it would be a good idea to taunt a woman who was holding a very sharp metal implement to his throat. But in the end he couldn't stop himself.

"That's not all I'm good at." He retorted snidely.

The regret he knew would come followed soon afterwards as the edge of the kunai was lifted from his neck and placed upon his cheek. He held back a wince as Anko slid the sharp edge across his cheek and created a thin cut upon his cheek. He visibly flinched as he felt Anko's tongue roll up the side of his face, licking the trickle of blood that had sprung form his cheek.

"Smart mouthed brats are usually the first to die in there, but if you survive, I'll find you, and we **_will_** find out what else you're good at." She whispered darkly as she released Naruto from her hold.

Naruto would have blushed at the implication had he not been on guard at her attention. She seemed a little _too_ bloodthirsty. Even he hadn't gone as far to play with the sound Ninja who took Kabuto from them. Although tearing someone's heart out of their rest **_was_** pretty bloody. Naruto's face became dark as his mind turned back to the events he remembered.

A hiss of pain escaped his teeth as his eye flared in pain again. He quickly reached up to his eye and clasped it tightly. Both Sasuke and Hinata moved to his side immediately, Hinata was quick to remove Naruto's hand from his eye and force it open with her fingers. A sharp intake of breath from her made it obvious that something was wrong.

'_The Vein's in it…why are they so visible?'_

She had not over-reacted; Naruto's entire eye was laced with visible veins, the crack like formations covered the entire eye, only few patches of white remained. She watched in fascination as the veins began to sink back below the surface, leaving the Naruto's eye as white as prior.

The little scene between the team-members drew quite a bit of attention from the various Genin. In particular a very tall Grass Nin was interested, a calculating gleam rested upon the man's eye as he stared at the side of Naruto's head.

"What is wrong with his eye?" asked a calm voice from behind Sasuke.

The Genin in question quickly turned around to face the curious person. A scowl adorned his face as he was greeted with the cold, collective gaze of Hanabi; he still held a grudge from her interrupting him when he was trying to find out from Hinata, why Naruto was at her house.

"How should I know?" snapped Sasuke as he turned back to Naruto and Hinata.

Hanabi scowled lightly, before turning to Hinata.

"Hinata-sama, what is Naruto's condition?" she asked calmly.

For a moment Hinata contemplated rejecting Hanabi's question, but in the end decided to answer her cousin.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps the examiner did something? Whatever it is, it's gone." Hinata said in a troubled voice.

"I didn't do anything to the little brat." stated Anko from behind Hinata.

Hinata froze for a moment before relaxing; she could not feel any hostile intentions from the purple haired woman. Just as she was about to apologise Hinata's face was met with a sheet. Anko let go of Hinata's 'disclaimer'. The recipient snatched it out of the air quickly before turning back to her temporary patient.

"I'm fine." muttered Naruto as he lightly pushed his team-mates away from him.

Internally he was searching for the feelings that had almost claimed him at the first stab of pain. He couldn't describe them; there was something naturally foreign about them, as if they were not meant for him. A sigh escaped his lips as he snatched a form from Anko's hands. He would have withered under the light glare she granted him with, but he couldn't be bothered to appease her ego.

A few minutes later and everyone of the Genin had signed and handed in the form, much to Anko's delight.

"Now that I am legally exempt from your deaths I'll say it; Knock yourselves out! Slaughter! Massacre! To your hearts content." The rookies were the only ones out of the Genin to show visible discomfort at the examiners declaration. In fact, a few of the older looking along with a certain red head were looking giddy at the prospect of consequence free killing.

Silently Hanabi walked towards Naruto, keeping her eyes locked upon his. She stopped directly in front of him, and did something that he had never expected to do. She hugged him in public. Naruto instantly braced for the impact he assumed he would feel. But none came.

"Don't die." Hanabi whispered softly into his ear.

Naruto tensed momentarily, before relaxing and returning the hug loosely.

"I won't if you won't." he murmured softly.

Beside Naruto Hinata was trying to keep a glare from her eyes. She quickly turned away to face Sasuke, only to find to her surprise, that he was staring at her cousin intently. Hinata's face darkened over as she began to hatch a plan to take care of her cousin. A dark chuckle escaped her lips, it would be perfect.

Slowly Hanabi disentangled herself from Naruto and stepped backwards after Naruto's arms released her. A smile appeared on Naruto's face, but it was soon to falter.

"Naruto-kun!" exclaimed Tenten a moment before he felt an impact on his chest. He was winded as the Tenten wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and pushed him backwards. He was barely able to steady himself and keep from falling. He was thankful that Tenten had kept her legs on the ground and didn't rely on him to hold her weight, she wasn't heavy, but without proper breathing, it could have become a problem.

"Tenten-chan?" choked out Naruto with the air he could spare, his supply was quickly diminishing.

He breathed in deeply as Tenten released her hold.

"Promise me you'll be alright?" she asked childishly.

Naruto almost bit his lip in an attempt not to laugh, the expression on Tenten's face was classic. If he had not mastered the **Kiraboshi-Ai **he may have been susceptible to Tenten's pleading gaze. But she had need not of tried, he wasn't planning on dying.

"I promise I'll stay alive, it isn't like anyone here can hurt me." He remarked teasingly, sadly it wasn't the best thing to say to Tenten.

A wince escaped him as Tenten slapped him lightly on his cheek.

"That's the kind of attitude that gets you killed!" she said hotly, before turning away from Naruto and walking towards Lee and Hanabi.

A sigh escaped Naruto's lips as he turned back to Anko his team-mates. He was surprised to find that Hinata was walking towards the stall by the fence. On closer inspection Naruto discovered that the two Konoha shinobi inside were handing out a scroll to a member of each team. Nodding to himself, Naruto allowed himself to smile. With Hinata on their team it would be a lot easier to locate other teams and avoid them, or in if he had his way, to catch them and steal their scroll.

Once back with Naruto and Sasuke Hinata presented her scroll to them both. Next to the kanji for 'Heaven' was an Arrow and a number. The arrow pointed towards the left once aligned with the booth, and the number was three.

"Alright, now you're all ready, each of you has been assigned a gate. In exactly five minutes each of the gates will be opened. If you're number is four or higher, I'd suggest you move your ass!

With that most of the crowd vanished in an uptake of dust, leaving five teams. Team Seven, Team Eight, Team Nine and Team Six from Konoha, and Team…Sand from sand. The Teams from Konoha quickly gave each other their farewells before moving off to their gates. As Team Seven made there way onwards to their gate, Naruto glanced over his shoulder to the red headed member of team Sand, Gaara. To his surprise Gaara was looking back at him. Naruto gifted the pseudo racoon with a small smile, one which was not returned in the slightest.

"That Gaara guy gives me the creeps." mumbled Naruto softly as they reached their gate.

The name was foreign to his two team-mates, thus they asked; who was he?

"You know that red-head guy? His name's Gaara and he's from sand." explained Naruto.

Both Hinata and Sasuke nodded, the Gaara was indeed creepy.

"The black marks around his eyes, do you think he ever sleeps?" murmured Hinata as she glanced back to the way they came from, The Original gate was too far away too see from where they were, she could only see a group of Grass nins. Her back stiffened when the tallest grass Nins eyes came into contact with hers. Quickly Hinata turned back to Sasuke and Naruto.

"The way that man looks…" muttered Hinata disgustedly.

Curious to what Hinata meant, Sasuke glanced over his shoulder to the far away Grass team. He could see what Hinata meant. Even though he could barely see the grass Nins' face, he felt something just by looking at him. He didn't like the feeling; it felt like he was being appraised for something. Did he look at Hinata the same way?

Sasuke clenched his fist tightly, before releasing a silent breath and relaxing. With Naruto and himself, Hinata would be safe, especially from weaklings. But could they classify most of the competitors weak? They were supposedly the lite from their respective villages. So far most of the 'elite' were gone. If that was true, how could they be considered 'elite'? Were they just cannon fodder to show the other villages that they had numbers?

A snort escaped Sasukes nose, Number's were all good and well, but it was the individual size of the numbers which made it in the end. You could have a Dozen Ones or you could have Seven Sixes. Seven sizes were far superior to Twelve Ones. Freaky math, but it was true.

"Alright." Sasuke said quietly to his two team-mates.

"We'll spend an hour travelling straight into the forest; Hinata will use her Byakugan to make sure no one is on a path towards us. If anyone is we will take them out if they have the Earth scroll. If they don't we'll send a Bunshin towards them to explain we have the same scroll, is that good for you two?" Sasuke started off analytically, complete with 'Chibified' versions of them selves and some weird animation which includes amusing poses when the other team finds out it's a Bunshin they meet. In the end he ended on a sincere note.

Naruto marvelled at Sasukes lack of 'order' He had actually taken Kakashi's advice seriously. Turning his mind to Sasukes plan he was quick to judge it as worthy, it was simple and effective, they'd cover ground and they would be able to keep track of enemies near them.

"Perfect plan." remarked Naruto as he gifted Sasuke with a sly smile.

Hinata nodded in consent to Naruto's words. Inside however she was wincing. Sasukes 'plan' relied on her being able to keep track of near by enemies movements. If she messed up, then it wouldn't be as easy as Sasuke made it sound. All three Genin tensed as a fog horn sounded through the air. Following it a loud click from their gate alerted them that the exam had begun.

Without hesitating for a moment Team Seven made haste towards the gate and entered the Forest of Death. The moment they passed through the first threes the fresh air they had been breathing disappeared, the air was thick with moisture. The atmosphere instantly weighed down on them.

The first day passed without incident thanks to Hinata. While they had nothing to base it on, both Naruto and Sasuke were certain that they were the furthest in. While there had been a few avoided confrontations Hinata's Byakugan had helped immensely, and with it Hinata had to agree that they were probably the furthest in.

As fate would have it, the moment Hinata agreed with her team-mates she caught sight of two teams, both on opposite sides of there current position.

"We have two teams close to us. On the right it's the Gaara person that you mentioned, Naruto-kun. By the looks of it they already have both scrolls. On the left it's Hanabi-neechan and her team. It… looks like they have both scrolls as well. Amazing"

Hinata bit down on her bottom lip. There was no need to tell them that Hanabi had waved at her once she had sighted her cousin. There was no need to mention that Hanabi had poked her tongue out at her.

"So what you're saying is that we should get the other scroll soon?" asked Naruto.

Hinata was about to reject the idea, but Sasuke cut her to the point.

"We shouldn't go out of our way to get a scroll right now. The closer we get to the tower the easier it will be. However, if another group from a different village is heading towards us…I don't see any reason why we shouldn't relieve them of the extra weight."

Hinata had no reason to object to Sasukes version. They'd have to get a scroll in the end, and the closer they were to the end the more time they'd have to prepare, and they would be rested, unlike the rest of the Genin who would have already begun to fight for the scrolls.

"Before we get into a fight, I think it would be wise to know each others strengths and weaknesses, it's been a while since we've been together after all." remarked Naruto as he dodged to the right of a branch in his path. Sasuke was the first to answer Naruto's call.

"I still specialise in Fire techniques, I also still am partial to speed over strength." stated Sasuke.

After a moment Sasuke frowned, had he really not changed at all over the past four months? He was faster and was more proficient in his techniques, yes. But he hadn't learned anything new. Was it the same with his team-mates, he wondered.

"I am still using the Gentle fist." murmured Hinata, "Over the past four months I've increased my ability to manipulate Chakra and my capacity."

Hinata, unlike Sasuke sounded vaguely proud over her abilities, In the back of his mind, Naruto wondered if Hinata would be a good sparing partner, but he paid little thought to it. It was his turn to speak.

"I've remained proficient in the Severe Palms techniques and the Taijutsu style. As you both noticed in the First exam I've been able to further modify the **Kuuden Hoorudo**." He, like his team-mates kept his abilities vague, but still enough to give them both an idea of what to expect.

"Over the last month I built my body up back to the point it was before we left for _that_ mission, and have since surpassed my previous physical abilities." continued Naruto after a moment.

To Sasuke, all Naruto was saying was that eh had gotten stronger. A pang of jealousy hit him. His friend had been able to get stronger, but he, himself had not noticeably done so? Sasuke made a pledge to himself, to spend the rest of his free time training. He wasn't strong enough to tear **_that_** man's finger off, much less his…well we all get the point. The point? Sasuke didn't want **_that_** man to procreate ever again.

"Naruto-kun! Sasuke! Someone is coming towards us at high speeds from behind! We'll only have a minute before they reach us at this rate!" Hinata shouted hurriedly.

In an instant the three Genin turned around in mid air and landed on their next branch. Both Naruto and Hinata took their respective stances, whilst Sasuke chose to withdraw a Kunai from his weapons pouch instead. The damp air of the forest weighed down on them heavily as they weighted for the speedy competitor.

"He's here." Whispered Hinata, just as a shadow burst down from the foliage above them. Each Genin tensed as the body fell earthwards and landed upon a branch a few meters away from them. They recognised the person immediately; it was the grass Nin that had been staring at them outside of the entrance to the Forest.

"Well?" asked Naruto quietly.

Hinata squinted her eyes slightly as she scanned the enemies' body.

"He hasn't got a scroll on him." remarked Hinata as she turned the Byakugan back to the Genins face. Something was wrong, With the Byakugan active, the Genins face seemed to be an incoherent mesh of facial features. Was he an impostor? Or was he in disguise?

"What scroll do you need?" asked Naruto calmly as he shifts his stance slightly to compensate for the other man's stature.

As Naruto spoke the tall Grass Nin's eyes slid to meet his. An eerie smile soon was crafted upon his lips. Naruto shivered slightly, the smile reminded him of something. Something he couldn't quite remember. Was it the grass Nins that had captured him? Was the person in front of him one of the people he could blame for what happened to him? No he was just a Genin.

"Naruto-kun, I'm pleased to see you are sane again." stated the Grass-Nin derisively.

Naruto's left eye twitched sporadically, he had been wrong. That would be the last time he denied his gut instinct because something seemed unlikely. Anger began coursing through Naruto's vein unstoppably. Soon all Naruto could think about was breaking the man who had confronted them. If he was partially responsible for the loss of three months of his life, he would pay, pay in blood.

Both Sasuke and Hinata noticed the change in Naruto's disposition, before he had been calm and collect, and in a matter of moments he had become enraged. It was beyond easy to assume what the enemy had meant; He had been one of the people involved in Naruto's capture. Sasuke' smirked sardonically.

"Naruto, what do you say we show this guy why he shouldn't have shown his face to us?" he remarked casually as he slide deeper into his stance.

Hinata frowned slightly, she could understand her team-mates thoughts, but was it really worth wasting time and energy for? He did not have his scroll with him, thus the battle would only be for personal reasons. She shuddered slightly. If she did not know better from the gleam in Naruto's eye, she was sure more then blood would be lost in the fight.

Naruto grinded his teeth together, as much as he was trying to hold back his anger, his Chakra wasn't helping at all, fro some reason it _wanted_ to tear the man apart. For a brief moment he wondered if he let it go of its own accord, would it actually tear the man apart. He dismissed the idea. And with the dismissal came the unconditional rage. Beyond the rage Naruto found something else. The same feeling he had killed the man who had tried to take Hinata, and who had taken Kabuto.

He wasn't sure whether or not he should lose himself in it. In the end he didn't have a choice; the cold rage had over taken him without him noticing. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he dropped his arms to his side and straightened up. The abrupt change in attitude seemed to stupefy their enemy.

His team-mates on the other hand began to fill with dread, the Scene from all that long ago began to flash through their minds.

The Cold Eyes, the Technique, the Heart, the Blood.

Everyone's eyes were drawn to Naruto's hands; they were glowing with the visible force of his Chakra. Instead of being veiled in the energy, they were holding it. In both his palms two separate globs of energy were fluctuating violently, trying to escape the control forced upon them by Naruto's consciousness.

Naruto snapped his head upwards and locked his eyes upon the enemies. His left eye was stinging badly, but he paid it no attention. His attention was focused upon the two fluctuating masses of energy in his hands, and on the facial expression of the enemy. It was an immediate surprise to see that the enemy was looking pleased, but it did not deter him, in a millisecond Naruto pushed an excess of Chakra towards the soles of his feet and kicked off hard against the branch he was standing on. As he soared upwards into the air above the Grass Nin he said a single thing.

"**Nigenteki Chakra tama.**" The three words escaped his lips emotionlessly.

Upon the final syllable Naruto spun around violently and released both of the shot-like collections of Chakra in his hands. Both of the 'Chakra' projectiles began to spiral downwards towards the enemy, who watched in fascination as they remained quite high in density. A smirk appeared on the grass Nins face as at the last moment he kicked off from the branch he was standing on.

Three of the four shinobi watched in morbid fascination as at the last moment both of the Chakra projectiles collided where the man would have been standing had he not moved. All was still and silent for a moment before the immediate area around the branch exploded in a flash of light blue light.

Naruto landed silently among the shower of splinters staring at the place the enemy had been standing silently. After a few moments he tilted his head upwards and locked eyes once again with the enemy.

Behind him Sasuke frowned. Although Naruto's attack had been powerful he had left himself open for counter attacks before, during and after the attack.

'_The enemies arms and legs are long which means he will have an advantage in close range combat, but if we don't get up close and personal he will be able to dodge our attacks, Naruto's attack was quite fast but hr still managed to get away unharmed. Most people would have been surprised to see such an attack coming from a Genin.'_

It was decided, without a second though Sasuke launched himself towards the enemy with a Chakra boosted leap. For a moment a flicker of emotion passed through Naruto's eyes before he as Sasuke had done moments before kicked off from his perch and descended towards the grass nin. The instant Naruto had landed he charged at the enemy. It had been what Sasuke was waiting for; both boys met the Grass Nin in a clashing of fists and palms. The spar did not last long; both Naruto and Sasuke were knocked away after a well placed counter to Sasuke, who in turn was thrown at Naruto.

Having gained some rational thought back, Naruto broke his team-mates fall before standing up again. A scowl appeared on his face as an artificial wind began to blow from his feet. The calm breeze quickly escalated to an invisible spiral of force. The air currents surrounding Naruto's body began to become visibly disturbed.

"**Guraundozero Boufu.**" snarled Naruto after a moment.

As he spoke the air currents around him began to shift violently. In an instant a surge of Chakra manipulated Chakra lashed out towards the enemies' position at a speed far superior to the attack Naruto had made before. The attack tore up the thick branch they had been standing on, creating a jagged channel through the grain of the wood. Before anyone could react a succession of waves followed after the first, tearing the area in front of Naruto asunder under the razor sharp force of the attack.

Naruto and Sasuke could see nothing, the distortion from the Chakra infused attack allowed them to see only a blur. After a moment the distortion vanished. Their enemy was lodged into the tree trunk at the end of the branch. Their body was peppered with bits of debris from the splintered branch.

The Grass Nin's eyes snapped open and locked onto Sasukes. Accompanying it was a malice smirk. A large burst of wind slammed into both him and Naruto. It took a moment for them both to realise that the enemy was upon them once again. The Grass Nins major mistake was forgetting one thing.

Hinata was still there.

Sick a sickening thud Hinata came from the Grass nins blindside and slammed her palm hard against the side of the Grass nins head, sending him flying away violently with the momentum he had built up from running. Hinata landed daintily where she had hit the enemy, smiling lightly as she watched their adversary twist his body in midair and land upon the trunk of a minor tree **(in comparison) **near the one team Seven resided on.

The grass nin scowled slightly as he pulled a few of the larger splinter's of wood from his chest, only to turn his gaze upon the three younger shinobi and stare at them thoughtfully.

"I'm curious why only the Hyuuga has her Doujutsu activated, why have you not, Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun?"

Sasuke tensed at the mention of his name, Naruto on the other hand stared blankly at the grass Nin. His mind however was racing.

'_Doujutsu? An ability born in the eye. The Byakugan is such an ability limited to the Hyuuga clan. _**(Oh god, Apple, carrot and celery juice tastes bad, I pray none of you are forced to drink it.)**_ The Uchiha clan also has an inborn Doujutsu called Sharingan. Most Doujutsu are a result of birth. I have no such thing to my knowledge, and if I do not know there is no way this Grass Nin would have the information.'_

After Naruto's analytical thought pattern he snorted.

"You are highly amusing, _**Demu-ketsu **(Dumb-ass)_ but I do not possess such a quality, nor do I need it."

The Grass Nin had taken on a pensive disposition as he stared down into Naruto's eyes. He was focused entirely on his left eye. The normal ocean blue was no longer pure; it was tinted slightly green inn the middle. The pupil was similar in its changes, there were faint yellow lines slashing through it.

"I see, they have erased your memory of our time together, allow me to remind you, Naruto-kun." He said calmly.

Slowly the skin upon the Grass Nins face began to melt away and fall earthwards, the first thing to be revealed was the paper white skin of the mans face. Sharp cheek bones were revealed along with a thin pair of lips. The last thing to change was the man's eyes; the black-like pupils suddenly vanished, and in their place a pair of yellow, serpentine eyes stared out.

Naruto froze as he stared up at the face of his enemy. His world had begun to slow down, he could feel his heart pumping in his chest, his eyes were dilated to the extreme, and the world was silent. He remembered those eyes; they were the eyes of Orochimaru. The world remained still to Naruto, but his heart began to pump more rabidly, and just as it had slowed down, time sped up to normal again.

Agony tore through Naruto's body as memories, feelings and emotions began to push through his body and mind. Memories of a dark place; a white room, surgical implements, People, enemies, a girl with red hair, a kind man with white hair; Feelings of helplessness, despair, agony. Emotions he never had felt before.

A heart rending scream tore from Naruto's mouth as he clutched at the sides of his head. He stumbled backwards as the world began to spin. Everything was wrong; he couldn't focus on anything as his mind was brutally assaulted with everything he had forgotten.

Sasuke and Hinata watched in horror as their friend and comrade continued to stumble backwards until he had reached the edge of the branch. A scream escaped from Hinata's as Naruto's body disappeared over the edge of the branch.** (Think Gatou's death in the anime)** In an instant she was running forwards and reaching into her weapons pouch. In the next instant she had threaded a length of wire through a kunai and launched herself off the edge of the branch; after Naruto.

As she fell through the air Hinata spun around and launched the kunai towards a thin branch nearby. The Kunai passed over the branch initially before the cord pulled against the branch; the kunai began to circle the branch until it reached its limit and sunk into the meat of the branch.

Hinata allowed the cord to unravel as she continued to descend at a rapid pace. She had pulled her limbs together to allow her to slice through the air. In no time at all she was by Naruto's side and had her arms wrapped around his stomach. An unladylike grunt escaped her mouth as the Wires lack instantly ended.

Naruto's scream had ended, and in its place a small whimper had taken root, he was whispering the same thing over and over again, Hinata had to strain her ears to here him.

"_It's him, he's here, I'll kill him, he won't escape me."_

Gradually Naruto's voice got louder. Hinata paid it little attention though; she was more focused on getting something under her feet. From the initial tension of the cord attached to her waist there was a bit of movement, but with a little shift of Naruto's weight, Hinata had begun to swing.

A wince escaped her as above them a loud explosion shook the area. Charred pieces of wood began to rain down from above. Hinata could only guess that Sasuke had begun attacking their enemy.

Up above, Sasuke was indeed attacking, and in turn being attacked. Despite how fast he was attacking, the Pseudo-grass Nin was faster, Every time Sasuke managed to match his speed, the tempo was kicked up a notch. And just like that, the attacking speed of the enemy had begun to become predictable and slow. It took Sasuke a few moments to realise that they were still fighting at the same speed as they had been moments before. It did not take a genius, which he apparently was to figure out the cause.

Orochimaru was staring into a set of newly generated Sharingan, The Sharingan of Uchiha Sasuke. Satisfied that Sasuke had managed to activate his Bloodline, Orochimaru decided to finish the little game of Dodge-and-Go-Touch.

Sasuke had no idea how it happened, but in a split second he found himself on his back with a head of black hair neck to his cheek. A few seconds later a repulsive pulse on his shoulder brought home the fact that a pair of teeth was sunk into his neck. A shudder racked his body as the teeth were lifted from his neck. On the back of his shoulder an irritating feeling had sprung up, but he was in no position to do anything, moments after Orochimaru had released him pain surged outwards from his shoulder, lost in the unending pain Sasuke finally gave into unconsciousness.

'_Kinky…bastard…'_ Sasuke thought moments before his mind was rendered blank.

Orochimaru smiled in satisfaction as he retracted his neck. He had been able to mark the Uchiha and check on his pet project, which coincidentally was doing better then he had expected, considering part of his memory had been erased. In His mind erasing knowledge was the worse thing a person could do. It was a crime on unprecedented evil.

"I'LL KILL YOU OROCHIMARU!" snarled a voice from behind him.

Orochimaru managed to turn around and move to the right just in time to avoid a critical wound. Where he had been standing Naruto's hand was parallel with the ground, his entire arm was veiled in a light blue glow. Naruto did not waste a single moment, in a flash like sweep of his arm; Naruto had slashed across Orochimaru's chest. Only to growl as the Snake-like-man leaned backwards. A small amount of satisfaction was had by Naruto as the front of Orochimaru's shirt ruffled slightly, showing a thin cut through the fabric.

Naruto brought his hand up to the front of his face, facing its palm towards his head. The Chakra bathing his entire arm was drawn towards his hand. It was lit up like a beacon in the darkness, illuminating the forest around them. He did not waste a second, Naruto charged at Orochimaru and slipped into one of the opening stances to the Severe Palm.

Orochimaru frowned as Naruto's left hand scrapped against his wrist, every time he managed to land a hit the area around the strike zone would become numb or sting. He had taken extra care to avoid the Fox-carriers right hand. The excessive amount of Chakra compounded to it was a sure-fire way to be wounded. Inwardly however he was smiling, the longer they fought the more Chakra the **_Orochienjin_** would be able to siphon. Which in the end meant the quicker it would activate. The Implant was in the last stages of its development, but Naruto didn't know that.

Hinata had not disappeared, as one would think, the moment Naruto had lured Orochimaru away from Sasuke she had appeared beside the Uchiha and taken him away from the immediate area. Naruto's behaviour had worried her. Since when had he been so blood thirsty, and what had Orochimaru, as Naruto had called him, done to Naruto to cause such a reaction?

A short scream escaped Hinata's lips as the last place she had seen Naruto exploded in a flash of Blue light. The world trembled as the shockwave from the attack rolled out, it was raining wood. The attack had literally obliterated the branch. Another flash of blue alerted Hinata to Naruto's new position, high up in the canopy of the trees a bit further away from where they were. Flash after Flash occurred, along with a serenade of explosions.

Hinata shuddered lightly, she vowed to herself to never get on Naruto's bad side. Her family had armed him with very dangerous weapons. Although she was sure he would only use them against people he hated, it was still disconcerting to see that her father had given such abilities to her friend. She would have smacked herself had her arms not been full of Sasuke.

'_Do you want him to be weak and dead?'_ she asked herself bitterly as she suppressed another wince as the debris littered down upon her.

Hinata knew the answer, she didn't want him weak or dead, she wanted him strong and alive.

She just didn't want him to leave her behind.

Up, above and beyond normal sight Naruto stood staring at Orochimaru, who resided upon the other end of the branch he was standing upon. Every time he attacked, the attack was not as strong or as quick as he intended it to be. The **Hazama dashihoudai** was an instant attack, it had been veer since had had mastered it, but for some reason the modified version was not. He was tempted to try the Original once again to see if it would work, but the attack would only be a waste, It was to weak to do what he wanted to do to Orochimaru, he wanted to break the mans body, just as he had done to him.

His mind turned to the problem with his left eye. The Irritation let up briefly every time he channelled his Chakra into an attack. He could have cared less in a normal fight, but this was between him and the one person he hated more then anything else in the world, any distraction would cause failure on his apart, as it had continuously been proven by his attempts to hit Orochimaru.

Messing with Chakra in the cranial space was a difficult business. Too much and you run the risk of destroying your mind with the energy, too little and you fail the task. But Naruto knew the limits he could go to. With painstaking precision Naruto began to funnel Chakra through directly to his left eye. But something was wrong; no matter how much Chakra he utilized the eye would just absorb it. The irritation stopped for a moment longer, before coming back in full force. Naruto's mind froze.

'_Is this my Doujutsu?'_

He thought in wonder. With reckless abandon he began to funnel excessive amounts of Chakra into his eyes, ignoring the nagging feeling pulling at his mind as he began to sink below the eighty five percent mark of his Chakra reserves. He had only used Ten percent while fighting Orochimaru. Fifteen percent of his overall Chakra was being siphoned into his eye.

And suddenly, the world exploded into a bright shower of pain. Naruto could only stand still silent as his left eye's pupil tore itself apart into eight sections. His teeth began to grind together as he tried to stop himself from screaming, the formerly mixed colour of his left eye instantly drained of the blue hue's left in it. All that was left was yellow, the same sickly yellow that Orochimaru had in his own eyes.

Naruto watched confusedly as Orochimaru's mouth slowly morphed into a smile. Literally, the world around Naruto had appeared to slow down. Even as Orochimaru launched his body at Naruto it appeared as though in slow motion, with Orochimaru moving at the speed of a casual jog. Was it because of the 'Doujutsu'? Naruto did not give it a moment of thought; he still had to beat Orochimaru.

Naruto slid his body into stance; it amazed him immensely as he felt his body move just below its normal speed. As Orochimaru was upon him, Naruto watched as his tongue sprung out of his mouth towards his neck. Naruto snatched it out of the air as it came into reach. A second later he had spun around, using the tongue as an anchor and slammed his heel into Orochimaru's temple.

Orochimaru grimaced in satisfaction as pain broke through from his temple. The Orochienjin had been a success with Naruto. His reaction time had improved immensely. Considering it had only taken him a second to cross the distance between them. Naruto had moved faster then most people could see.

His grimace quickly turned into a smirk as he twisted his body in midair, and dropped onto his feet. Orochimaru turned his ehad to the side and spat out a small amount of blood onto the branch he was standing on. He stared at Naruto appraisingly.

"Very good Naruto-kun…Now kneel before me." He praised and then ordered.

Naruto snorted lightly as he opened his mouth to retort. Only to find to his horror that his body was moving of its own accord. No matter how hard he fought it, he could only slow it down. Painstakingly slow his body lowered itself onto his right knee. Once he was down upon his knee he could only watch in horror as Orochimaru jumped towards him.

Naruto shut his eyes tight as he waited for the pain which he was sure to come. Instead he felt a cold clammy hand upon the side of his face. He refused to open his eyes. Slowly, the hand turned his head upwards until his ehad was as far back as possible.

"Open your eyes." Orochimaru commanded.

Naruto once again fought it, willing his eyes to remain closed. But as before, no matter how much he fought against it, his eyes in the end opened.

Once open he was greeted with the sight of Orochimaru's face. An involuntary shudder wracked his body as he smelt the remanence of melted flesh on Orochimaru's face. The smile upon Orochimaru's face sickened him. He felt ill, he felt as though his own body had betrayed him- Which it had.

A revolted scowl appeared on Naruto's face as Orochimaru ruffled his hair lightly.

"You will make a wonderful subordinate with this kind of obedience." Orochimaru announced silkily.

It was too much, Naruto couldn't take it, only one attack came to mind. Drawing his Chakra together, Naruto prepared to re-use the **Guraundozero Boufu **but before he could initiate the attack, Orochimaru spoke again.

"Now sleep." Orochimaru commanded as he vanished from Naruto's sight.

No matter how hard he fought against the feeling, his body wouldn't allow him to win, No matter how hard he tried to stay awake, it wouldn't stay away. The last thing he remembered hearing was Hinata's voice, crying out his name.

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**Hope you enjoyed, I actually expected to be finished the Second exam by the end of this chapter, but Orochimaru is such an evil bastard he took half a freaking chapter from me. I WILL KILL HIM!**


	24. A Sound Entry

**I seriously did not expect to end up writting 2000 words today, which prior to School begining was the minimum i would normally write. And since I HAVE reached that I hit the bare minimum for a chapter, five thousand words.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Hannah, the pure psychotic driving force behind me right now. She decided she was bored, so I gave her the entire story to read.. she did and demanded more of it. It has apparently become an addiction, one which if not fed will get me killed. Here is hoping I keep writing, Cheers.  
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The damp dank atmosphere of the Forest of death pressed down upon Hinata as she steadily carried Naruto and Sasuke down to the forest floor. There had already been a few near misses with other teams, but they had been avoided, although barely with the aid of the Byakugan and **_Bunshin no Jutsu_**. The combined weight of Sasuke and Naruto would have been too much for the young girl, had she not been taught, like every Hyuuga that where Finesse was not possible strength was the best option. With the ability to channel Chakra infinitely more delicately within her own body then any Non-Hyuuga besides Naruto would find impossible, Hinata infused her muscles with a varying amount of Chakra, gifting her with the ability to shoulder her team-mates weight. 

Hinata was only paying the minimum attention needed to the environment; the man that had attacked them Orochimaru. He was unbelievably strong, Naruto it seemed had not been able to damage him more then a few minor wounds. Yet his attacks had annihilated quite a few trees. Sasuke had fallen in a similar state. If she was correct in her guess, he had been able to activate the Sharingan. That in itself was something that brought terror; the man had been able to knock Sasuke out just like that with the Sharingan activated.

He had been able to act as if nothing had happened after being struck to the head with a direct blow from the Gentle Fist, that itself should have been fairly impossible. Whatever notions Hinata had of the man being a normal human being was shattered, when coupled with his pale snake like appearance. A shiver racked her body; could her father beat him? She didn't know. But in the back of her mind she doubted it.

What disturbed Hinata most of all, was that Naruto at the end kneeled to the man and obeyed his orders, what kind of man was he to make Naruto so submissive? Was Naruto forced to do it? It was something to do with Naruto's eye, she knew it. When she had tended to Sasuke she had felt an enormous of fluctuation of energy towards his eye; the same eye that had been just before the test almost strained to the point of the veins inside bursting.

"_I see, they have erased your memory of our time together, allow me to remind you, Naruto-kun."_

Hinata shivered lightly, when the man had shown who he was, his true face something happened to Naruto, it was blatantly obvious that Naruto's memories came back to him and by his reaction none of them were pleasant. A frown overcame Hinata's face. Although Naruto's initial reaction and fall of the tree had been disturbing; His reaction after recovering was frightening. The killing intent had caused Hinata to freeze for a moment before overcoming the innate fear that had sprung up inside her.

Luck it turned out was on her side. About one hundred meters from her present position a hollowed tree was vacant, it was the perfect place to hide. What annoyed her; was the fact that she had gone down to the ground to find a place to hide, and now she had to climb back up. With an aggravated sigh Hinata regulated a larger amount of Chakra to her legs and kicked off the ground as hard as she could; while she could have tried climbing the tree; Sasuke's and Naruto's weight would drag her down.

A few minutes later and Hinata was relaxing as much as she could against the inside of the hollow. In front of her both Naruto and Sasuke lay motionless, while Naruto seemed to only be unconscious, or rather asleep. Sasuke was another matter entirely. His body was burning up with a fever. Hinata had pulled off the weird sleeve-like pieces of his outfit and saturated them lightly with the water from her canteen. While it wouldn't remedy the problem it did provide a short break and keep Sasuke from getting brain damage.

Glancing over to Naruto she smiled fondly. The blond haired boy was amazing, but even with all his strength he lost against Orochimaru, in the worse way; by falling asleep. If they got out of the forest in one piece, she'd tease the hell out of him for it. Silently she began to crawl over to Naruto, only to freeze as she got past Sasuke.

In the far distance the single Sound Genin team were following the path she had taken. Hinata bit her lip lightly. They hadn't been still for that long, she had not had time to set up traps to deter other teams, in hindsight it was a huge error, but she had her team-mates health to worry about first. With a quick distance to speed check Hinata determined that they would arrive in approximately five minutes. It was a short amount of time but enough o at least constructs a few barbaric traps in the least. And thus Hinata set to work, creating a crude defence structure around the follow. Utilizing some advance tactic's she placed only a light amount of traps near the hollow, and a heavy amount of traps leading off towards the tower.

If all went well then the sound Genins would be deceived and bypass them completely, if not then; what would come, would come and she would have to meet it head on.

**(A/N: Is it just me or does Kin sound really, really cute?)**

Hinata tensed as the first traps in the Sound trio's path were sprung, she could feel the slight tremor as a twin set of explosive exploded at the same time and broke off a large branch from high above the ground. She winced lightly as the forest quaked as the old wooden limb slammed into the ground. With the aid of the Byakugan Hinata watched as the three Genin evaded yet another trap.

The closer they got the more traps they set off; Hinata could see the signs of annoyance and anger in the males eyes. What worried her however, was the girl. She had managed to stay slightly behind and avoid any danger. It would be a liability to ignore her presence if they managed to find her.

A large intake of breath was Hinata's final action as the Sound Trio came into the normal sight range, she however like, Naruto and Sasuke were out of plain view, hidden in the shadows of the almost invisible hollow. Slowly a smirk formed on Hinata's face as she watches the two males of the sound team the path of traps she laid out. Hinata's attention was more focused on the girl in the team.

Earlier, prior to the first exam when the sound trio had attacked Kabuto, Kin although it seemed she had done nothing; done something. Hinata doubted she was the only person that noticed, but after the spiky haired member of their team jumped, something flew past him and hit the ceiling; it was a needle attached to a bell. To most people it would have seemed insignificant. But at the moment the needle hit the ceiling an almost inaudible sound echoed throughout the room.

The bandaged boy, while he was fast couldn't have been as fast as what they had witnessed. With the basic information it was easy for Hinata to deduct that it had been a Genjutsu; that meant that she was the most intelligent out of the three. The bandaged boy had attacked Kabuto physically, whilst the spiky haired one had opted for a long range attack. Hinata would bet her left eye that the spiky haired one was the most proficient in Ninjutsu, which meant that each of their members specialised in a certain aspect of being a ninja.

Hinata's mind turned to her own team; each of them were proficient in Taijutsu, her and Naruto were above Sasuke in that area. In Ninjutsu Sasuke would probably take home the trophey- But then what had Naruto done before? They were considered Ninja Techniques weren't they? What their group lacked sorely in was Genjutsu. Although with the ability to know where everything was, thanks to her Byakugan they really didn't need Genjutsu on an average basis.

Hinata's mind quickly turned back to the situation at hand; the two boys had gone far beyond the hollow. The girl as she had guessed was looking around the area for something. She had taken extra care to hide the traps protecting the area closest to the hollow. While it would be best if they did not find her, Hinata wouldn't allow her team-mates to be unprotected.

Hinata briefly entertained the idea of the Sound Trio leaving them alone if she gave them the scroll. The idea was quickly squelched as her eyes located their scroll; It was a Heaven, just like theirs. They couldn't bargain with the scrolls, If they found out that they also had a Heaven scroll they'd probably leave them alone. Hinata snorted at her logic, they'd just gone through at least two dozen traps. The anger and annoyance was written clearly on their faces.

Hinata's heart began to beat sporadically, in the near distance a team of Rain Genin were making their way towards the sound Genin, and they had an Earth scroll. Her breath hitched in her throat as she watched the three sound Genin turn to the Rain Nins direction.

Whatever hope she may have gotten from the Rain team soon vanished. She watched in horror as the confrontation began. At first she had assumed the Rain team had a chance, but that idea quickly flew out the window.

The Rain team had just moved into visible sight. It didn't bring up any wonder as to why they attacked straight away; the attitude shown in the first exam proved that the Sound Nin's were not a group to be bargained with.

"**_Joro Senbon!_**" shouted the leader of the Rain Genin team as he reached behind his back and took hold of the six umbrellas upon his back. As he brandished them towards the Sound Genin Team the Rod's opened up into a set of plain umbrellas. Had she not have had the Byakugan, Hinata would have called them pointless. But having the Byakugan gave her the ability to see past the plain exterior and into the folds of the umbrella.

Senbon laced the entire structure of the umbrellas. Hinata watched in morbid fascination as the Man threw the Umbrellas upwards into the air. As they reached their maximum height the umbrellas began to revolve. And just like that; The Rain of Senbon began.

One would have assumed it was a lightly drizzle from the look upon the Sound Nin's faces. A Light drizzle of lethal splinter's of metal. With a Sadistic smirk, the spiky haired Sound Nin slid both his hands into a single seal and jumped backwards. As he passed out from under the majority of the rain of senbon he thrust his hands at a Seventy five degree angle from the ground.

"**_Zankuuha!_**" he shouted as his feet came into contact with the ground.

From the small holes upon the spiky haired Genins hands a torrent of Chakra imbued air tore out in a torrent like wave. The Senbon struggled against the wind currents for a few moments, before redirecting and losing any semblance of precision. The Rain Nins watched in horror as the senbon rattled towards them through the cutting winds.

Hinata remained motionless as she watched the senbon tear through the Rain team. She repressed the need to expel her previous meal. The sound would no doubt be audible and the smell would alert every living thing to her whereabouts.

Cold sweat was slowly dripping down the side of Hinata's face. The Closest team was more then two kilometres away. There were no more obstacles in the Sound Nins path between them. Hinata released a shuddering sigh as she slowly stood up and moved towards the exit of the hollow. Against all three of them at the same time, she had little to no chance of winning.

Against each of them separately however, she would have a significantly higher chance. Before the First exam, they had shown Pride in their skills and their Village; she would make it their downfall.

The first sign that clued the Three Sound nins into another's presence were the unnatural creek of wood above them. The bandaged Sound Nin was the first to look. As he snapped his head upward she only just had enough time to lunge to the side to avoid a palm to his head, instead it made contact with his shoulder.

"Dosu!" shouted the female member of the Sound team as the newly identified Dosu fell to his right and away from the radius of Hinata's attack range. It did not amount to much, within moments Hinata was upon Dosu once again and striking his lower stomach. A Grunt of pain issued from Dosu as a burst of Chakra passed through his body. His visible eye widened as Hinata began to slide her hand towards his heart.

At the last moment Hinata spun around in midair and slammed her foot against Dosu's chest, allowing her to stop her descend and narrowly avoid a razor sharp torrent of air blasted pass the spot she would have been moments before.

"Nice timing, Zaku." stated Dosu as he slowly rose from his crumpled position on the ground. Zaku smirked and nodded to his team-mate as he prepared to fire another blast at the assailant. Up a small distance away Hinata stared down at Zaku emotionlessly from her position on a large trunk, but inside, her mind was racing trying to devise a way to stay alive. Her time was cut short as from Zaku's palms twin blasts of pressurised air erupted and combined creating a giant torrent of air.

Hinata was quick to evacuate her position upon the side of the bark of the trunk, and without a moment to spare, as the technique crashed into her previous position the trunk seemed to shred against a transparent onslaught of Razorblades. A wince almost escaped Hinata as she watched chunks of the bark and meat of the tree indent in the land and tree's near where she had hid both Naruto and Sasuke.

She quickly came to the conclusion that Zaku's technique caused too much destruction, and that the longer he was able to attack the more likely it was that they would injure both Naruto and Sasuke. In a split second it was decided. Hinata's new target was Zaku; As Hinata soared through the air she reached into her weapons pouch and grasped two separate Kunai.

Now upside down in the air Hinata spun around and used the momentum to throw the kunai towards both Kin and Dosu. Both dived out of the way as the Kunai cut through the air towards the, Without Zaku being able to deflect the projectiles with the **_Zankuuha _**they were on their own when it came to physical threats. As it so happened, both Dosu and Kin prepared themselves for a follow up on Hinata's prompt assault, but they were disappointed, instead Hinata's wrath was directed at their team-mate Zaku.

Unlike Dosu who had the benefit of being trained primarily in Taijutsu, Zaku was left at a disadvantage against the Gentle fist. Blow after Blow struck Zaku before he had even come to terms to what was happening to him. After the first attacks which only glanced him, and the pain that followed he quickly came tot eh realisation that close combat with Hinata was a bad idea and made to retreat, only to be struck directly upon the stomach.

Zaku's eyes widened as the bile within his stomach began to rise up. He fell forwards and bent over just as the oozing liquid erupted from his mouth, covering the ground with the mixture of bile, and broken down food-stuffs. Hinata remained stoic as she started down at the collapsed form of Zaku. Suddenly Hinata bent forwards and threw her hands out to balance her sudden movement. It was not too soon, a series of senbon sliced through the space her upper body had just occupied.

"Too slow" shouted Hinata as her hand slid behind her and into her weapons pouch.

Violently Hinata whipped her hand towards the female member of the sound Nin team; Kin. Out from her hand flew a series of Shuriken towards the Sound nin's chest. Kin, not being one to fall so easily launched her own projectiles, her needles at the Shuriken. A smirk encompassed the Sound Nin's face as her needles glanced off the Shuriken, altering their trajectory.

Hinata suddenly froze and then began to convulse, her form quickly crumpled to the ground, revealing Dosu with his arm stretched out to the back of her head.

"You should not have attacked by yourself girl, it was a foolish thing to do." stated Dosu slowly as he glanced over at Zaku who was only just gaining his wits about him. Kin smiled down at the almost motionless body of Hinata, besides the few tremors which ran through it as she tried to move and ignore the pain from Dosu's attack.

Dosu slid his foot under Hinata's side and roughly kicked her over onto her back, allowing him to stare down into his eyes.

"Tell us where Uchiha Sasuke is and we will let you live." Said Dosu slowly as he started down at Hinata, through the white linen bandages covering Dosu's entire body she could see a smile. It disgusted her that he thought she would accept his offer. But despite her current situation, Hinata smiled inwardly.

Something was stirring a small distance away, _someone_. She had all the faith in the world in them. She was certain that they would save her. Slowly as Hinata's body began to function properly she smiles up at Dosu, an un-nerving smile.

'_I only need to occupy him for a few more minutes."_ thought Hinata calmly as she tested the functionality of her limbs.

"My team-mate, Naruto.. is unable to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu." stated Hinata calmly.

A snort issued from Dosu's nose.

"We shall let the weakling live." stated him pacifying as he continued to try and coax her into accepting his offer.

Hinata ignored Dosu's interruption.

"Despite that he came to my family on order of the Hokage and learned a forgotten fighting style, making him one of the strongest Ninja's I have ever met." continued Hinata, focusing her eyes on Dosu's single visible one.

"_Is he trying to mimic Kakashi-sensei? _" wondered Hinata for a split second before continuing.

"He far surpasses me in the ways of my family, he even managed to create his own techniques which destroyed our enemies of the past...I could never match up to him in my eyes."

A soft laugh echoed from Kin as Hinata finished her sentence.

"And you want us to help you get strong-. " Kin started, only to be cut off from finishing her sentence.

"Despite that, I have watched him… and it has not been fruitless, because I can see things he cannot." finished Hinata with a grim smirk.

"**_Giji Boufuu!_**"_(False Storm)_ snarled Hinata.

Instantly a blue surge erupted from Hinata's prone body and spiralled anti-clockwise sweeping up Dosu in the force of the attack. The blue spiral turreted outwards, capturing Kin and the recovered Zaku in it's wake. All three Sound nins were thrown violently away from Hinata who had rolled onto her front and crouched upon her hands and feet. As hard as she could, Hinata leapt up high into the air and forced her body into a diagonally spin.

Zaku was the first to gain his bearing about him and thrust his hands upwards towards Hinata, the words which would have echoed from his mouth were lost as a gigantic wave of compressed air imbued with Chakra tore upwards towards Hinata. Up in the air Hinata closed her eyes as she prepared for one of two events to occur.

"**_Sukaidaiba-Boufuu_**."_(Sky-Diver Storm)_ Intoned a voice as a black and yellow blur shot straight towards Hinata.

From the black blur an almost identical torrent of air collided with Zaku's attack, holding the force back for the moment. Giving Hinata just enough time to be caught by the person before it fell away against the wrath of Zaku's blast.

From his position on the ground Zaku watched in satisfaction as the cream of Hinata's coat vanished among the deadly winds.

"Well that is the end of th-" The end of Zaku's sentence, which most likely would have been 'that' was cut off.

In front of Zaku, teeth bared a yellow haired boy snarled and continued to dig his fingers into Zaku's throat. Slowly Zaku reached up and took hold of Naruto's wrist, he tried with all his might to remove the hand clutching his throat, but all the while his body began to tremble, until he could no longer hold his arms up, they simply fell down to his side and dangles, convulsing lightly.

Naruto smirked sadistically as with a single movement of his arm he tossed Zaku to the side like a piece of unwanted garbage. Naruto did not spare Zaku another look as he turned his attention to Dosu.

"You… hurt Hinata-sama." Stated Naruto blankly as his cold blue eyes stared into Dosu's.

Dosu sneered at Naruto lightly, although he had dispatched Zaku easily enough, he was trained in Taijutsu, any simple moves like that and the yellow haired Genin would be down as fast as Zaku had gone down.

From a small distance away Hinata watched in horror as Naruto lifted his right arm up and pointed it open palm towards Dosu. Out from Naruto's palm a mist-like wave of Chakra swept out and converged on Dosu. Hinata watched in morbid fascination as Naruto's Chakra wove it's way through Dosu's body. Hinata knew only once when this had happened before. Her eyes were focused upon Dosu's heart, the only place the Chakra had not reached yet. Just as it was about to invade the organ, the Chakra paused and instead converged upon his right arm. Hinata breathed a relative sigh of relief.

Dosu however did the exact opposite, a strangle scream echoed form his mouth as out of no-where a pain surged through his elbow and shoulder. His arm instantly went limp as the cartilage was pulverised by Naruto's Chakra. Dosu's bravado instantly faded away against the torrent of pain tearing through his nervous system and he fell to the ground, reaching blissfully unconsciousness soon afterwards.

A small bit away, Kin was on her knee's, staring down at the ground wide eyed. She did not have to look up to see Dosu nor Zaku's unconscious figures. She knew they were out for the count, and it was all on her. Inwardly she smiled, outwardly her eyes began to tear up. She could hear the foot steps of the yellow haired boy approach, soon he was standing right in front of her.

Naruto stared down coldly at the top of the sound Nin's, as he prepared to strike, she did something he had not expected.

Kin lunged at Naruto's waist and wrapped her arms around him and began to audibly cry. Naruto automatically faltered in his actions and frowned. Ninja's didn't cry. Was she trying to trick him?

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked as neutrally as he could. But he could not help but let a small bit of concern drip into his voice. Something Kin picked up upon straight away.

"T-thank you… I t-thought I w-would ha…" she trailed off before burying her face upon his stomach and dampening the black fabric with her tears. Kin inhaled slowly and began to stop crying after a few minutes, she however did not loosen her grip on Naruto.

"Please…please help me..." she whispered softly as she rested her cheek upon Naruto's lower stomach.

Hinata, who had been all the while moving closer to Naruto, narrowed her eyes upon seeing the sound Ninja touching Naruto in such an intimate way. She was more then discontent to see Naruto looking at her with eyes, not of malice, dislike or even annoyance, but instead of concern. Inwardly she cursed, while out of combat Naruto's concern for the general well being of others was a wonderful thing, when it leaked into battle it was a great concern. It surprised her greatly that the trait had remained after Naruto had regained the memories of his time spent in the hands of the enemy… in the hands of Orochimaru.

"What happened to you?" he asked softly as he stared down at the top of Kin's head. Kin took a shuddering breath and calmed herself before she in a single swift movement detached herself from Naruto and stood up. She quickly rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes to wipe away the excess water which stained her skin.

Naruto stood silently as he stared into the sound kunochi's eyes; they were slightly glassy, but he saw determination in them.

"The leader of the Sound village ordered me and my team-mates to attack and kill Uchiha Sasuke." Kin paused for a moment as she gauged the reactions of both Naruto and Hinata. To her surprise, Naruto's muscles tightened and his eyes narrowed. The White eyed girl however remained relatively stoic.

"He gave us a choice." Kin continued. "Complete the mission…or be executed." She watched in satisfaction as Naruto's body took on a less tense disposition.

Hinata's eyes narrowed suspiciously moments before she spoke.

"And what would you have us do about it?" she asked softly.

On the outside, Hinata seemed as placid as ever, but on the inside...Hinata's mind was raging; The girl, Kin had two options, complete her mission or abandon it and be hunted by her fellow shinobi.

Hinata's eyes widened slightly before regaining their previous shape.

"You want to deject…?" she all but whispered.

Kin snapped her head up and towards Hinata in shock. While the idea seemed obvious to her, the idea that either of the Konoha team-members understood what she said at face value was intriguing.

"What makes you think Konoha would accept you on words alone?" asked Naruto slowly.

Unbeknownst to Kin, Naruto was slowly leaking Chakra down through the soles of his feet and spreading it towards Kin. Hinata seemed to also be aware of Naruto's manipulations; her body was slowly, unnoticeably tensing as she prepared to move.

Kin gulped lightly as she prepared to give the single piece of information that would save her. Little did she know she was surrounded by a veritable field of Chakra a decision away from trapping and restraining her. She remained silent for a few more moments before finally speaking.

"The sound and Sand are planning to join forces and attack Konoha before the Chuunin exam finishes." She said without a tremor in her voice.

The instant Kin had finished her declaration the mood between the three Genin changes dramatically. Had Kin not been the bearer of the news, Naruto would have instantly torn her apart with the now strained flow of Chakra circulating her.

Naruto was hard pressed to stop his Chakra from tearing into both Zaku and Dosu; they had willingly attacked it seemed, they had without hesitation attacked Hinata. That alone in his eyes was an offence punishable by death. Instead of acting out against his enemies Naruto turned to Hinata.

"Our main priority is the security and safety of the village, if what she says is true then this exam means next to nothing. We will retrieve Sasuke from the hollow and proceed to the tower, if within the allowed time we have not managed to acquire a scroll to pass the exam it will become irrelevant and we will enter the tower to inform the Sandaime." Said Naruto swiftly as he turned to Hinata and prepared to launch himself towards Sasukes hiding place.

"Wait!" called out Kin confusedly. "What about me?" she asked quietly.

Naruto faltered in his movements and turned his ehad around slightly, allowing him to look at Kin.

"If…what you say is true, I will do all within my power to help you…but until then this is still an exam for you." stated Naruto calmly.

His eyes flickered to the forms of Zaku and Dosu lying prone upon the ground.

"The guy with the holes in his hands should wake up easily with a little help from you. The bandage boy however is currently experiencing a surplus of pain and should remain unconscious if you wish him well." As Naruto finished his sentence a devious smile took place upon his lips before he turned away.

"Let's go Hinata-sama." Half-ordered Naruto as he launched himself up and out of sight. Hinata was soon to follow his lead away from the sound trio.

Kin remained still, staring up as Naruto and Hinata vanished from her view. A quick glance to Zaku told her that he was still unconscious, and one to Dosu told her that his arm was indeed going to be a pain for him; Human arms were not meant to resemble a deformed nun-chuck.

A sigh escaped Kin's lips. She was playing a dangerous game. A game which could have easily gotten her killed. A game that could still get her killed. A sadistic smirk came upon her face as she slowly walked over to Dosu's unconscious body. Slowly, she brought her foot backwards before in a swift motion she slammed it into the bandaged boy's side, rousing him instantly with the pain.

A scream of agony erupted from his bandaged mouth as he attempted to defend himself with his right arm; the arm which Naruto had…disabled. Kin held back a wince as Dosu fainted once again from the pain. A grunt behind her told Kin that the wail had woken Zaku from his unconscious state.

Another sigh escaped her lips as she turned to Zaku and began to layout the story she would weave to them within her mind.


	25. Tip Toe To the Tower

**Hey everyone, this is the final partial update of aAP, next update will be a full chapter and won't take a month. Why? I have two weeks off. But, just so you know, after the two weeks, until the Christmas holidays, the lack of updates will occur again. Now, I implore you people, stop telling me to update, or to update quicker. It seriously doesn't motivate me to write, it does the opposite in fact, I just have one last thing to say, NinjakungfooactionstabstabHanabiftw!**

**Jon **

* * *

The forest around Hinata appeared to be one gigantic green blur as she, Naruto and the incapacitated Sasuke tore up the upper levels of the forest. Every so often Hinata focused the direct gaze of the Byakugan upon Naruto. She had no idea what he was thinking. The glare upon his eyes told her more then enough. He was angry, but mainly at what, Hinata did not know.

When both Naruto and Sasuke had been knocked out, she did not have time to think about what had happened, the Situation would not allow it. But now that Naruto was able she had time to. And the first thing that came to her mind was the way that Naruto had been defeated.

Defeated wasn't the word, Hinata decided, Naruto hadn't been beaten… He had just submitted. Something she was not used to him doing. Even when he was just beginning his Hidoi Hira training he had not given up. Not even when fighting her father, and to her satisfaction Hanabi. She, herself had never fought against Naruto, no matter how many times he asked her to.

"We need to rest for a moment." stated Naruto blandly as he narrowly missed the upcoming tree branch and fell to the ground. Hinata's eyes widened for a moment, but then she took note of the lack of apprehension in Naruto's posture.

Without a sound Naruto landed upon the ground and shifted Sasuke off his shoulders. Hinata let out a wince as Naruto simply let Sasuke fall to the ground off his shoulders. She was saved further worry as Sasuke landed softly on his side.

"Naruto-kun…what hap-"Hinata began softly.

"I don't want to talk about it." Snapped Naruto icily before he turned away and began to walk away from Sasuke's body.

"But perhaps you shoul-" She tried again, only to be once again overrode by Naruto's voice.

"**I said I _don't_ want to talk about it**." Naruto all but yelled as he approached the boundary of the tree's surrounding the small patch of barren land they were in.

Hinata was slowly losing her composure. Her cheeks had already begun to redden at Naruto's lack of co-operation. The sheer action of him continuously not allowing her to talk was aggravating her sense of pride.

"**I don't _care_ what you _want_**." yelled Hinata back as she slowly advanced upon Naruto's back.

Naruto froze at Hinata's tone and faltered. Slowly he turned his head around and faced her. His teeth were gritted together, he narrowed his eyes at Hinata momentarily before turning his body around with his head to face her. He was quite surprised to see the anger so clearly visible on Hinata's face. Although he had seen her get angry at other people, and himself he had never quite seen her in such a state. Probably because no one had ever stopped her from talking or ignored her, he bitterly reasoned.

Naruto silently stared into Hinata's eyes, he remained silent as he waited for her to speak, but she never did. Slowly he began to turn away, only to have his head snapped in the opposite direction as Hinata's palm collided with his cheek.

"I can't begin to imagine what happened to you…But we are still a team, and team-mates don't block each other out… especially when they need each other to survive." said Hinata softly.

Slowly Hinata inched forwards before she wrapped her arms around Naruto and hugged him to her tightly. Naruto remained still before slowly bringing his arms up from his sides and wrapping them back around Hinata in a gentle embrace. His shoulder's sunk slightly as he closed his eyes and began to relax.

"I'm sorry…I just am confused." Naruto said as he lowered his head and laid it upon Hinata's shoulder. A ruffle at the edge of the clearing caught Naruto's attention and had him snap his eyes open. Acting on instinct Naruto dug his heel into the ground and spun around, lifting Hinata off the ground.

Hinata's eyes opened just in time to witness a barrage of Kunai and Shuriken strike Naruto's back. She winced lightly as the Shuriken and Kunai sliced into the sides of her arm, narrowly avoiding hitting them directly. Naruto's arm's tightened around her for a moment before relaxing. Hinata attempted to step backwards away from Naruto and get into a defensive position, but his arms would not budge. Her struggle against his arms stopped as she felt his Chakra caress her arms. She winced as the Kunai's and shuriken began to slowly rattle, before picking up frequency and dislodging from Naruto's back entirely. Without a pattern they fell to the ground.

Hinata remained motionless as heat began to envelop Naruto's back, soon the smell of burning flesh made its way to her nose and she could not remain still any more. With a jerk of her body she moved backwards, and succeeded with detaching herself from Naruto's back.

Hinata stumbled backwards, before falling to the ground. She stared up in horror as a dark cloud of chakra began to erupt from Naruto's body. Had she not been a Hyuuga she would not have noticed the difference between it and his normal chakra; the difference was minimal.

Hinata had no time to think, from three direction's weapons sliced out from the foliage. Without thinking Hinata pushed her palms against the ground and moved her body onto her feet. Just as she was about to jump to Naruto's aid, but a field of translucent red energy erupted in front of her body and knocked her back down.

"You…" Naruto began, only to falter as yet another barrage of projectiles cut from the foliage. The moment the Projectiles came within five meter's of Naruto the translucent red barrier warped into reality and deflected the weapons.

"**_Idiots..._**" snarled Naruto as he flung his arms outwards. From his hands a surge of the translucent red energy tore outwards. Hinata closed her eyes and prepared for the pain she was sure was about to come. But it never did, slowly her eyes slid open, her breath hitched in her throat as she looked out over the land around her and Naruto.

The land was bare up to a certain range, at which a pile of debris surrounded them in a circle. Her eyes were instantly attracted to a small bit of movement amongst the trees and shrubbery; a twitching, bloody hand. Beside her Naruto began to walk towards the area she was looking at, deep down she was beginning to feel dread creep up inside her.

Naruto waved his hand carelessly in front of him and a surge of Chakra erupted from his hand, passing through the debris in front of him. He quickly tore his hand upwards from his side and the debris began to shake, before from underneath it a body was torn upwards.

Naruto remained motionless as his eyes stared across at the bloodied body of a man older then him. Beside him Hinata sharply inhaled as she caught a glimpse of the man's face.

"He has a Konoha Forehead protector." stated Hinata in disbelief. Hinata slowly composed herself as Naruto stared across at the battered and bloody Leaf Nin, seemingly evaluating the man who had attacked them.

"What should we do with hi-" Hinata began to ask.

Naruto's hand tore to his right, towards Hinata and along with his motion, the Leaf Nin's body jerked into motion, on an almost direct path with Hinata. Without thinking, Hinata dove to her side, away from projectile-like body. As her side came into contact with the ground, Hinata allowed herself to continue to roll, before striking out her legs and moving directly to her feet. In a flash a Kunai was in her hand and she was ready to attack. She was up just in time to watch a gigantic gush of blood tear from the Leaf Nin-projectiles body.

The world seemed to stop for a moment as the gore slowly descended towards the ground. Only to kick into hyper drive as the probably dead body of the leaf Nin rocketed away into the direction where the attack had come from. As the body slammed into the bushes a dark green blur shot out of its path, trying to move out of Naruto's immediate sight.

They never had a chance. Naruto's left hand reached out in an instance towards them, and with a small twitch, it caught them in a net of Chakra. But Naruto wasn't done. He dug his heel into the ground and kicked off with his right foot, causing his body to spin around. Using the momentum Naruto slashed his left hand towards a seemingly innocent bush. The innocence vanished quickly as a jet of fire burst forth from the shadows. But luckily for Naruto, the body of the airborne enemy had already moved between him and the incendiary attack.

Naruto swore lightly as the flames distorted his view beyond the bushes. The only clue that the enemy had moved was the small rustle of the leaves. Hinata whimpered as a blood curdling scream erupted from their _ally's_ mouth. Even when they had gone up against the Unknown Ninja that had captured Naruto, none of them had made a sound when the life was snuffed out of them. Genin, however were not adverse to it. The horrendous screams continued to wench at Hinata's heart strings, and before she could stop herself she was calling out.

"Naruto-kun, Stop it!" she screamed.

Naruto paused for a moment before turning and looking into Hinata's eyes; they were glassy, as if she were about to cry.

"Why?" Naruto questioned blandly as he spared a glance to the smouldering corpse of the person that had attacked him.

"They attempted to harm us, why should they not feel the pain they wished to inflict?" asked Naruto coldly as he turned his head towards Hinata. She was momentarily taken back by Naruto's blunt question. Still, she never had a chance to answer.

From above Naruto a blur of movement caught both Naruto's and Hinata's attention; A large amount of weapon's were plummeting down towards both him and Hinata. Naruto relaxed for a moment before his eyes caught sight of a pale hued slip of paper attached to each of the handles. A frown appeared in Naruto's lips as he assessed the enemies attack.

Each of the Kunai were aimed at different part's surrounding both himself and Hinata. He could not risk using his _defence_ for the simple reason that the energy would most likely set the explosive tags off. Naruto was completely focused on the attack above him. Hinata however was not; in the few moments she had after Naruto had spoken she had activated her Byakugan, Thus she saw what Naruto could not. She saw what would hurt herself, Sasuke and Naruto.

"**Doton…" **came a haggard voice from below them.

Hinata without a moment to spare charged towards Naruto with an excess of speed she did not think she was capable of prior. "**Taitan Oshitsubusu**" finished the voice just as Hinata reached her target; Naruto. She braced herself as she threw her arm open and slammed into Naruto, forcing him off the ground. Hinata grimaced as she heard the ground cracking open, without warning a gigantic column erupted from where Naruto had been standing. The monumental spike of earth however did not remain intact for long. The Kunai raining down just happened to glance off the side, with the small disturbance in the metal, the explosive tags upon the handle activated, instantly incinerating and obviously exploding.

A chain reaction occurred amongst the explosive tags, starting from one, with the explosion triggering the rest. The stone obelisk couldn't take the shear force which was acting upon it, and within moment's it was blown apart.

Pieces of rock slowly rained down upon the area, but Hinata could feel naught a stone upon her back. As she slowly rose up from her crumpled position atop of Naruto she realized why; The Translucent red barrier was surrounding both her and Naruto. Every time a piece of rock hit the barrier it shattered as it was repelled by the vile energy.

"Thanks…" Naruto said gruffly as he gently shifted Hinata's weight off his chest.

A grimace soon appeared on his face as his Chakra pathways began to burn. It appeared as though he had reached his limit for the moment with his Chakra expenditure. Without warning, the translucent barrier protecting him and Hinata from the debris faded away, allowing the few minor pieces of earth to fall haphazardly near them.

"Well… that's bad." stated Naruto blandly as he stared out into the canopy over head.

Over from where Naruto had carelessly thrown Sasuke a power spike was starting to form, slowly at first but soon it gained momentum and before Naruto could comprehend what was happening it's presence was shown physically as wave after wave of tainted Chakra pulsed outwards over the forest floor.

"That _could_ be bad." Naruto said worriedly as he sat up and stared over to the source of the Chakra.

Naruto's eyes met the sight of Sasuke standing up straight and staring up into the canopy, as he had just been doing. The most obvious sign that something was wrong with Sasuke, was the black markings covering half of his visible body, they seemed to be the source of the tainted Chakra which was tearing through the debris littered area.

Sasuke tilted his head downwards towards Naruto for a moment and their eyes made contact for a second before Sasuke smirked.

And then he vanished.

Immediately after, a series of screams erupted from behind the shadows and foliage, accompanied by the unmistakable splatter of blood. Beside him, Naruto could feel Hinata shudder as the screams and sounds of gore splattering upon the landscape met her ears. Hesitantly Naruto reached over and placed his hand upon her shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze.

Hinata's head snapped up, and her eyes met his. Naruto winced lightly as he stared into Hinata's Byakugan. It was obvious why she was reacting the way she was; she was able to witness the fate of those who had attacked them. Considering the pattern of screams, and splatter's of blood, it was safe to say that the enemy's deaths were beyond violent.

Without warning a bloodied body broke down through the canopy and plummeted towards the ground at a dangerously high speed. From high above the Canopy a spark of fire dimly lit the sky.

"**Katon: Sokusha Yari no jutsu!**" echoed Sasuke's voice throughout the clearing as once again a spark of fire lit up the sky.

Instead of fading out, the spark ignited into an inferno. Naruto watched silently as from high above the Canopy a torrent of fire tore down through the foliage, searing the upper forest as it passed by. As the flames passed out of the canopy they exploded. From the original source of the flames dozens upon dozens of separate fire spears converged upon the falling body.

Naruto watched and listened in morbid fascination as the enemies body was set alight and torn asunder by the fire lances. Their screams seemed to echo through Naruto's ears unendingly, before slowly they died down, along with the spark of life within the enemy's body.

"That was overly dramatic if you ask me." Naruto said bemusedly as he slowly moved from his sitting down position into a standing up one.

In front of him Sasuke landed with a small thud against the ground, smirking.

"Yes, and tearing someone's heart out of their chest is not overly dramatic at all" drawled Sasuke mockingly.

"Touché" Naruto said blankly as he reached down and grasped Hinata's hand and gently helped her up. Naruto turned his head and pointedly look at Sasuke.

"You didn't burn their scroll did you?" accused Naruto lightly as his eyes flickered to the smouldering body behind Sasuke.

Sasuke let out a harsh laugh before reaching into his weapons pouch and withdrawing a Heaven Scroll. Idly he waved it in front of him before tossing it to Naruto, who snatched it out of the air and inspected it, before throwing it back.

Sasuke reached up to catch it, but faltered and let out a short gasp of pain. The markings disfiguring half his body were pulsating and slowly spreading further across his skin. Sasuke clutched at his neck and dug his fingers into his skin. Slowly, but surely Sasuke's will power won out and the markings withdrew back into the cover of his clothing, into the spot he had held upon his neck.

"I sure wish I had one of those." stated Naruto blandly as he turned his back upon Sasuke and the scene of the visible area which had been disturbed by both his and Sasuke's individual fights. His eyes scanned the area around them critically before speaking again.

"We should head-"Naruto began, but was soon drowned out.

"We should head that way." stated Hinata shakily before pointing slightly more east then Naruto had been looking.

Naruto blinked in surprise, he had not expected Hinata's mental state to recover so quickly after witnessing the probably dismemberment and unintentional torture of the enemy Genin's. A small smile appeared on his lips for a moment before vanishing; he nodded to Hinata before turning slightly to the east and kicking off of the ground.

Sasuke soon followed after him, leaving Hinata staring after Naruto. She soon began to move after Naruto, after deactivating the Byakugan. The Horrific scenes she witnessed seemed to partially vanish from her memory, as she stared ahead with clear eyes.

The foliage and tree density seemed to increase as they continued to progress towards the tower in the centre of the forest. Periodically Hinata activated her Byakugan and corrected their path ever so slightly to ensure that they would not stray too far from the quickest path. Every time she used her family's bloodline she was given a painfully accurate evaluation of her two team-mates.

Both Naruto's and Sasuke's Chakra coils and pathways were worn out. It held truer for Sasuke then Naruto, however. His pathways seemed too had been forced open, and were slowly shifting back to their original state. Naruto's on the other hand were indescribable. While they seemed to have been worn out, there was no evidence of the fact except for the slight abnormalities in their formation. His tenketsus were a different story, they seemed to be basically destroyed, an over exposure of the Chakra he had used to protect them was probably the cause.

Hinata would have been worried, but she was spared that for a single thing she noticed, the tenketsus were ever so slowly regenerating, rebuilding themselves. Something she did not believe was possible, something which should not have been possible. It was something she would not speak of until she returned home, and only then she would speak so to her father, to find out the cause of the miraculous occurrence.

Just ahead of her, the target of half her curiosities was more aware of what she had seen than she could have been aware. There was very little Naruto could do except ignore the pain encompassing his entire body and push forward, towards the Tower in the middle of the Forest, the only place it would be safe to rest and leave consciousness, to allow the pain to run it's course.

With the countless training methods he had been subjected to in the Hyuuga complex to tighten his control over his Chakra it was more then obvious what the problem was. His Tenketsus were ruined. And he had more then a small idea why; The Chakra he had been using to defend both him and Hinata was both foreign of his body, and yet at the same time it was something he had always had within him, although he had not always been aware of its actual purpose, he had been aware of its existence since he could hold thought.

There was something else.

His entire body felt off. But at the same time it had never felt stronger. Whatever Orochimaru had done to him was both beneficial and yet detrimental to him. From his time retraining his body with Hanabi it was glaringly obvious that his muscles had worked beyond any possible capacity they should have had and from a completely useless baby-like appearance they had evolved far past his previous level of muscle density and composition. They were for a lack of a better phrase, New **_and_** Improved.

A scowl appeared on Naruto's lips as he focused on another addition of his body. His left eye; He had no idea what had happened to it, but it was painstakingly obvious that it was a- He did not even know what to think of it. It seemed to give him near godly reaction speeds, yet if by following occurrences after its activations rendered him completely submissive to that sub-human piece of filth Orochimaru.

It seemed that he was not the only one who Orochimaru had chosen to taint. From the feeling that radiated from Sasuke when the markings had covered his body, Orochimaru had somehow gotten to him to. As far as Naruto was aware Sasuke had not come into contact with Orochimaru besides the quick skirmish which resulted in their utter obliteration.

The thought troubled him.

Naruto slowed down slightly and let Sasuke take the lead towards the tower; he placed himself near Hinata in terms of the travel arrangement.

If Orochimaru had been able to get to Sasuke in that small amount of time, he shuddered to imagine how quickly he'd have been able to taint Hinata. The question was, in Naruto's mind was; Why had he not used the opportunity to get Hinata as well? From the attack on them from the bunch of Cloud Nin, who he now assumed to be Orochimaru's henchmen, it was painstakingly obvious that they were also after Hinata.

A quick glance to his right allowed him to watch Hinata as she rushed forwards over the branches with a high level of dexterity.

Although prior he had snapped at Hinata, he truly did care for her, as a friend, not only as his charge. It seemed like an eternity before, that Hiashi had called him to his private study without any information as to why he needed him. Naruto, at the time thought it was something to do with his training, which he had all but accomplished.

Hiashi had been sitting at his desk, staring down at the numerous papers covering the desk. Upon noticing Naruto enter the room he had told him to sit down. The tone of his voice had not been lost upon Naruto, it was harsh, forceful. As he moved forwards, to the seat in front of Hiashi he caught a glance of the sheet of paper atop of the small pile. It had Hinata's name upon it, along with a few names he recognised, they were villages. _Kumogakure_ in particular seemed to the most frequent on the list. Naruto had a sinking feeling in his stomach. While he had been mainly training since he had been given access to the Hyuuga's library, he had taken time to read up on both the History of the Hyuuga and the new occurrences. One of the major events in recent history was the attempted kidnapping of Hinata, the heir of the Hyuuga's main branch.

Up until that point, Naruto had not known why Hanabi had no parents around. He had assumed they died in service of Konoha. The reality was far from the fact in his eyes. Hanabi's father, Hizashi, had been sacrificed in order for Hiashi, Hinata's father to remain alive. While from the transcripts it was obvious that he had not been forced, he in fact suggested it, along with the elders, it still irked Naruto somewhat. Hanabi's mother on the other hand, had not taken it quite as well. She, within a matter of days committed suicide, leaving Hanabi by herself. It really was not a wonder that Hanabi had turned out the way she had, so jaded with the world around her and the rest of the Hyuuga in particular.

It was amazing that Hanabi did not blame Hinata for her parent's misfortune. But, Naruto did not have time to dwell on thoughts of the past. Somehow, within the brief time his mind slipped away from reality they had come within range of the final destination; The Tower. Naruto was surprised by its appearance; he had assumed it would at the least look professional; as it were the tower looked like it was only being held up by the patch jobs which had been done on it. Naruto suspected a bit more then concrete and wood had been added to the design.

Slightly ahead of Naruto, both Hinata and Sasuke were looking around the entrance of the next stage of the Chuunin exam. Both of the born Doujutsu users seemed to converge upon the wall to the back of the lobby at the same time. From where he was Naruto was able to read the kanji scrawled over the white board.

'_If you do not possess Heaven; Gain knowledge and be prepared.'_

'_If you do not possess Earth; Run through fields and seek strength.'_

'_If you open both Heaven and Earth scrolls; Dangerous paths turn into safe ones.'_

"Shall we open the scrolls?" Hinata asked grumpily as she brought a pale coloured scroll out of her weapons pouch.

Across from her Sasuke mimicked her actions, and withdrew the scroll he had taken from the team who had tried to oppose them most recently. Both Hinata and Sasuke flicked their thumbs across the seal binding the scrolls. From the Scrolls blooms of smoke began to disperse into the air around them, almost mechanically they both threw their separate scrolls As they unwound and laid over each other an explosion threw the smoke circulating the air above them away. From beyond the dissipating screen of smoke a slightly feminine figure was taking shape. Soon it was clear enough that Naruto could take a guess at who it was.

"Hana-senpai?" Naruto echoed blankly as the smoke finally cleared and he was granted with a vision of Kiba's sister.

The slightly older Inuzuka blinked for a few moments in silence, before recognition lit up within her eyes.

"Naruto-san?" she asked, surprised, before she, without waiting for Naruto's response walked forwards and slapped him on his arm playfully.

"Good to see you! How was your exam?" she asked happily as she slung her arm over his shoulder and lead him further away from his two team-mates, both who looked like they were an inch away from attacking the overly friendly girl.

"It was slightly tiring." Naruto admitted. "We were attacked by quite a few teams, but that is to be expected I suppose."

Hana nodded lightly.

"Luckily, when I had my exam we didn't get attacked much, in fact we did most of the attacking." she said grinning.

Naruto couldn't help but smile up at Hana, despite himself.

"Let's just say, the people who attacked us came off a lot worse then we did." Naruto remarked casually.

Hana blinked a few times before she mimicked Naruto's grin, and in a split second, she had her arm around Naruto's neck, and was grinding her fist into the top of his head, as she laughed. While Naruto could have evaded the headlock, he saw no reason to, if he had reacted he would have been in pain, instead of just mild discomfort; his body was still recovering.

"You aren't so tough!" Hana said playfully as she finally, released Naruto from the headlock she placed him in.

A few meters behind Hana and Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke were glaring at the Inuzuka Chuunin. Hinata, couldn't stand to watch the older girl man-handle Naruto any longer. "Excuse me, Miss, what are you doing here?" Hinata asked loudly, drawing Hana's attention off of Naruto and onto her, along with Naruto's.

"Hey, yeah, what are you doing here, Hana-senpai?" Naruto asked as he straightened up and looked up to her face.

A look of confusion passed through Hana's face for a moment, before it disappeared, and she snapped her fingers.

"Oh yeah, well congratulations on passing! I'm just here to explain to you what the scrolls mean… But we can skip that I doubt you guy's need the lesson." Hana said, before turning to Naruto and giving him a cheeky smile. "Instead let's just head on through, only a few other teams are here, like only two I think." she finished, as she turned upon her heel and beckoned for the three Genin to follow her.

"Hanabi's team, and the team from sand right?" Naruto asked, as he turned his head to Hinata, only to turn his head back to the front as she nodded a yes to his question.

Naruto fell quiet as he followed Hana forwards, past a quite well hidden door on the side of the room. No one said anything as they walked on, not even Hana, who had seemingly lost all traces of excess energy that she had exhibited prior.

Soon enough they entered a lobby-like room, which was barren of life, despite the many chairs which lined the walls.

"This is where I leave you to get yourselves comfortable and rested, you have a day or so before the other team's start to pile in, I think, well anyway, have fun and all that." Hana said offhandedly, before thinking for a moment and continuing. "Naruto, next time I see you, you better be a Chuunin, or else I'm getting you back into the clinic to help with my three puppies again." she said, before grinning and winking at Naruto, before shifting her hands into a seal, and vanishing in a burst of smoke.

Silence held for a few moments after Hana left, before Sasuke broke the silence.

"Let's find somewhere to rest?" he asked unenthusiastically, before nodding to the sign on the far left side of the room, which read 'lodgings'. Both Naruto and Hinata nodded absently and followed Sasuke towards the sleeping quarters. It wasn't long before they arrived at the nexus to all of the room's, and within moments they had picked a room out, among the many that were open, and the two that were closed.

Naruto was half tempted to peek into one of them to see if Hanabi was awake, but he held back the urge, and gave into the temptation of sleep, and the relief it'd bring from the pain he was still feeling throughout his entire body. And yet- he didn't feel like joining Hinata and Sasuke in the room yet. Instead, he chose to quickly drop off his belonging's and wander around the tower, to see what else it had within its walls.

Silently, Naruto walked towards the lobby. No matter how hard he strained his ears, he could pick up not a single trace of sound, despite the slight creek in his muscles that was made every time he moved. After what seemed like an hour, Naruto finally broke free of the corridors and staircases which made up the facility, and came out upon an arena.

A small frown appeared on his lips as he stared down at the dirt laid floor of the area underneath the balcony he was on. There was no doubt that the arena would be used, which meant that they'd be fighting more. That was worrisome. At the rate his body was recovering from his previous battles, he would not be able to let them drag out, there was no way he'd be able to use most of his techniques either, the longer he waited to finish, the more time he left for surprises, the higher the chance would be that he'd fail.

The frown upon his face deepened. Ever since he woke up, he had been trying to not think about a certain person. A certain serpentine person, the same person, who had become the sole reason for his to date greatest wish; To strangle the life out of Orochimaru, with his own bare hands.

"Naruto-kun?" questioned a familiar voice from behind Naruto, causing a smile to break through the frown, which had been occupying his face.

"Hanabi-Chan!" exclaimed Naruto happily as he turned around to face Hanabi.

The second his eyes landed upon Hanabi's, he was knocked back, against the railing, with a hand pushed against his throat. Naruto's eyes became alight with confusion, as his hands jumped up and his finger's wrapped around the wrist which was connected to the hand which was strangling him.

Hanabi's eyes glared hatefully into his.

"Who are you and where is my Naruto?"

* * *

**Isn't that a nice place to end it?**


	26. Girls, Genin and Gaara

**Quite a bit earlier then most of you were expecting, I bet. Well, I'm going to update aAP alot mroe then Intertwined until chapter thirty, then i'll go with Intertwined, until ten, and then rotate between them, and a third secret story which you may or may not see, In the end.**

**Jon**

* * *

Naruto gasped for air as Hanabi's fingers dug into his neck, his hands continued to yank at her hand, trying to dislodge it from his neck. He could have gotten out of her hold easily, but doing so, in the way he had thought of would have hurt her, and he did not want to injure her.

"It's me!" he choked out as he managed to pry some of her fingers away from his throat.

"Don't lie to me!" she said angrily, trying with a renewed vigour to strangle Naruto. "Your posture, the way you walk, the way your chakra fluctuates, it's all wrong!" she all but screamed.

Naruto shook his head from side to side quickly, before gasping out.

"It's me Dammit!" he said again, before he let a gentle current of chakra run through his fingers into her arms. Or at least, he tried to, as the chakra passed through his tenketsus, his control went haywire, it was like trying to calmly push a flock of bird's into a tornado, The flock of bird's being his chakra, and the tornado being his tenketsus.

Hanabi's Byakugan charged eyes flashed for a moment, before they became stone hard again. But her grip loosened tightly, enough to let Naruto breath easier.

"Prove it." she demanded coldly.

"I dyed your hair blonde once." he whispered out before inhaling slightly.

Hanabi's face took on an indignant tone, and her grip tightened again. This prompted Naruto to continue.

"And I never said sorry." he said haggardly, before pausing and looking Hanabi in the eyes. After a few seconds of staring he blurted out "Sorry."

Hanabi frowned lightly.

"The Naruto I know wouldn't have apologised."

"The Naruto you know didn't remember everything that had happened to him." said Naruto angrily as he, with all his strength, tore both of Hanabi's hands away from his throat.

As Hanabi's hands were moved away, Naruto was surprised to find that she had stopped tyring to strangle him. Naruto let out a series of coughs as he tried to get air back into his lungs.

"It is impossible that something in there triggered your memories, and if that was true you shouldn't be able to comprehend thought, it should have fried your brain." she said cynically, before glaring distrustfully into Naruto's eyes again.

"And your eyes, they aren't the same beautiful blue that they were went you entered, ignoring the accident with the examiner put aside." she continued, before raising her right hand up in a typical Jyuuken fashion.

"Do you know of a man named Orochimaru?" asked Naruto blankly.

Hanabi nodded instantly.

"He is an S-rank traitor to the village of Konoha." Hanabi said blandly, before arching her eyebrow. "Is that who you're working for?"

A gigantic influx of chakra within Hanabi told her that was the wrong thing to say, especially when the boy in front of her collapsed down onto one knee and began to ramble off obscenities, some of which she was sure didn't fit in the same sentence.

"He's…he's the one who…" Naruto spluttered out through a grimace as he slowly rose up once again.

"He's the one who…?" Hanabi repeated blandly, she had more then enough of an idea to what he would place Orochimaru as, but she didn't feel like being nice to the person, whether they were Naruto, or not.

"He's the bastard who did this to me." Naruto spat out angrily, before he turned his head up and glared into Hanabi's eyes.

Hanabi stared down shocked into Naruto's eyes. From the beginning she could see that the boy in front of her was being totally honest with both her and himself. Not only that, but the pure malice and anger shining out at her. Hanabi remained still as once again Naruto's chakra went berserk, and she was unprepared for what happened next.

Hanabi's eyes widened as a force acted upon her middle body forcing all the air in her lungs out. Shock registered in her mind, not because of the act, but because she felt no series pain blossoming in her body at all besides a slight ache in her back. Which was probably caused by the fact that her back had been slammed into a wall, a wall that now had a Hanabi-sized dent in it, a good five meter's away from where she and Naruto had been standing. She let out a shuddering breath and she slumped forwards slightly, onto Naruto, who had slammed his fist into her stomach, and forced her, in the spam of a single second, against the wall she was pressed against.

"You're being completely serious." Hanabi whispered softly as she tried to straighten up, ignoring the fist which was firmly planted in her stomach, holding her up against the wall. She gently pressed both her palms against Naruto's shoulders and supported herself. A second later, her Byakugan deactivated, removing the unsightly veins which surrounded her eyes.

"I've never lied to you." said Naruto aggravated, before he removed his fist from Hanabi's stomach. "About important things." Naruto cut Hanabi off as he noticed that she was about to speak again.

An indignant look took place upon Hanabi's face for a moment, before fading away, leaving her as stoic as ever.

"You know." Hanabi suddenly said, "We haven't been able to just, sit down and talk for a while." she said innocently as she trailed her finger's down from Naruto's shoulder's to his chest.

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly at Hanabi.

"We haven't." Naruto agreed readily, before continuing, "But you don't usually like to talk, you'd rather train." said Naruto slowly as he eased out of his anger, and rational thought, or part of it returned.

"How do I know you're really Hanabi?" asked Naruto slowly as he brought his hands up to Hanabi's wrists and gripped them tightly.

"Because only a Hyuuga can use the Byakugan." Hanabi snapped irritably.

Naruto laughed sheepishly, before he did something which he hadn't done in a while, he reached up to the back of his head and scratched it. Hanabi's irritation faded away, and she smiled at Naruto.

"It's quite beautiful out here isn't it?" she asked softly as she turned her gaze away from Naruto, and towards the forest below them, which went on as far as they could see.

"It is." mumbled Naruto as he, as Hanabi had, turned his vision out to the forest.

Without warning, at least two kilometre's away a ball of fire erupted, illuminating the dark, the explosion, Naruto derived from the way it had shaped, was caused by a set of Explosive tags, much like the one's which had been used against them in the exam.

"You remember everything that happened to you?" Hanabi asked blankly as her eyes flickered from the forest to Naruto's face.

"Yes, every moment, every single experiment." Naruto said bitterly.

"Sorry." Hanabi said half-heartedly, causing Naruto to let loose another laugh.

"You really are my Hanabi." he said amusedly.

Hanabi arched an eyebrow, yet again.

"I'm yours now?" she echoed blankly.

Naruto frowned for a moment, before smiling again.

"Well, yes, If I'm your Naruto, then you're my Hanabi." he stated as if it were obvious.

"I suppose, that suits my purposes just fine." she said flatly as she turned her head towards Naruto.

"Your purposes?" Naruto asked sceptically.

"Mhm." Hanabi affirmed before moving closer to Naruto and resting her head upon his shoulder.

This… doesn't seem right." murmured Naruto softly.

"Is it because we are surrounded by vicious battles which most likely will end in people losing their lives, and the very forest around the tower is filled with carnivorous animals which are probably devouring the corpses of those who have already died?" Hanabi asked innocently, and although Naruto couldn't see her lips, he was sure she was smiling at his increasing discomfort.

"That might be it." said Naruto dumbly, before he shook his head.

"I should go back to bed." stated Naruto hesitantly, before he slowly moved away from Hanabi, forcing her to stop leaning upon him. For a single moment, Naruto could have sworn he saw a pout upon her lips, but as soon as he thought he saw it, it disappeared.

"You're acting… weird." Naruto said brashly, before he folded his arms across his chest.

"Can't I just be happy that I'm near you?" Hanabi asked sourly as she mirrored Naruto's pose.

"No." said Naruto bluntly.

Hanabi's brow furrowed as she contemplated what she was going to say next.

"I'm going to enjoy cutting you down to size in our next fight." Hanabi said coldly.

Naruto held back a flinch at the tone of her voice. He knew he should have been more _sensitive_ or _empathetic_ but he just couldn't muster the will power to, when being careless was so much easier, especially when he was having half his mind suppress the pain going throughout his entire body. So far though, he was sure he was doing a good job at cloaking just how bad it was overall, even if he had slipped up more then a few times.

"You can't hide _anything_ from me, Naruto-_kun_." Hanabi said calmly as she peered out over the forests below and around them.

"I can try to." snapped Naruto lightly as she passed through the doorway and entered the building.

"You'll fail to, no matter how hard you try." called out Hanabi, a bit louder then usual.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at how sure Hanabi sounded.

Five minutes later, Naruto found himself snuggled up close to a pillow in his assigned bed, relatively undressed. The bed and sheets were freezing cold against his skin, but that was fine, ever so slowly, Naruto's own body heat spread to the fabric around him and began to warm him up. No matter how hard he tried, Naruto couldn't fall asleep, so much had happened within a relatively short time. But his eyes had begun to repeatedly close, and every single time they took more and more time to open.

One moment it seemed as though he was about to fall to sleep, the second Hinata's face was a few centre metre's away from his, and a hand, presumably hers, was shaking him lightly.

"I just got to sleep." mumbled Naruto softly as he lifted his hand up and pressed it against Hinata's chest, before giving her a slight push.

A small blush surfaced on Hinata's face.

"Naruto-kun!" she spluttered out, before slapping at Naruto's hand.

"Le'me alone." grumbled Naruto as he rolled over and buried his face upon his pillow.

"Alright." Hinata relented, before taking on a thoughtful look and speaking again. " I don't know if they provide lunch or dinner, so if you miss breakfast, which is happening right now, you may not be able to eat for a while, and it has been a while since we've eaten." she said innocently, before turning around and attempting to walk out of the room.

Unluckily for her, a set of finger's had ensnared around her wrist and tugged upon it lightly. She looked back to see Naruto still laying face down on the bed. She briefly wondered how he had managed to catch her before she left the room, but soon shrugged the thought of as Naruto spoke again.

"Give me… a few more seconds." he mumbled into the pillow, before moving his hand back onto the bed, unfortunately, his finger's had not unwound from Hinata's, and she was tugged unceremoniously onto the bed, right on top of Naruto.

"Sorry." Hinata said startled as she scrambled to get off of Naruto, who was now wide awake.

"Sorry." said Naruto automatically as he sighed, his sleep was utterly ruined, although he assumed, that since it was breakfast he had gotten some sleep, it still didn't seem like a large amount of sleep.

Without thinking, Naruto threw the sheets covering him off. it was only as his feet touched the cold wood floor of the room, and the cold air hit his body did he realise that he was still in a less then professional state of dress.

"Sorry Naruto repeated as he glanced to Hinata's face, which as luck would have it was reddening, her eyes were wide open, as was her mouth.

"Oh come on!" said Naruto snappishly. "You've seen worse before." he stated brashly as he began to pull his clothes together. He paused as he noticed Hinata was still standing in the exact same place she had been since he had gotten out of bed. He arched an eyebrow at the blue haired Hyuuga, "What are you going to watch?" he asked bemusedly, Hinata's reply was not one he had been expecting.

"Actually, I think I might." she said lecherously, causing Naruto to freeze for a moment and wonder, if this was actually the Hinata he knew, her voice, choice of words, the sentiment behind them, and the look in her eyes was enough proof against her validity. As quick as the change in Hinata's personality occurred it vanished, returning Hinata to the slightly shy girl she had been seconds before, who had the decency to blush, before she walked out of the room rigidly.

Naruto chuckled a small bit, before he began to get dressed. A small time skip later, and Naruto was walking down a corridor, towards where he assumed would contain the breakfast area, as his luck would have it, his hunch was right, and he was greeted with the sight of a few teams sitting down at separate tables eating. The table's each had four sides, big enough to fit a single person; weirdly enough all of the tables had four seats, even though as far as Naruto knew, only three Genin were assigned to a team.

His eyes first landed upon the distinct green of Lee's spandex suit. Predictable, right next to him and straight across from him sat Hanabi and Tenten. The moment Tenten's eyes landed upon his recognition passed through them, a second before a slightly loud call erupted from her lips.

"Naruto-kun! Come sit here." she called out, and patted the seat next to hers.

Naruto was half tempted to take Tenten up on her offer, but after half a second of thought he declined the idea. He shook his head at Tenten and mouthed the word 'No' before smiling regretfully and chose to sit down with his own team.

"Morning" said Naruto automatically as he sat down on his side of the table, which was across from Sasuke's.

"Morning." said Sasuke without thinking as he prodded at the food upon his plate with his chopsticks.

"G-good morning Naruto-kun." stammered out Hinata, who, unsurprisingly, had gained a red face as soon as Naruto had entered the room, something Sasuke took note of immediately.

"Is something the matter?" asked Sasuke nonchalantly as he dropped his chopsticks onto his plate.

"N-no, not really." said Hinata, as she progressively regained fluency in her speaking.

"She just saw me practically naked, that's all." Naruto said calmly, before taking a bite out of the now cold food upon his plate.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow at the declaration, but soon shrugged uncaringly.

"Is that all?" he asked bemusedly, before snorting as Hinata nodded.

Naruto made a small grunt of confirmation as he swallowed down a chunk of something he did not want to know the name of.

"What do you think will happen next?" asked Sasuke quietly as he stared down at the small mess of food which was still on his plate.

Naruto shrugged lightly.

"It doesn't matter, I'll still pass." Naruto said confidently, at the look both of his team-mates gave him; he simply winked and declared "I'm unstoppable."

Both Hinata's and Sasuke's eyes were suddenly diverted to something behind him, or he assumed so, since their line of sight changed to over his shoulders. Both of his team-mates were suddenly on guard, and had become tense.

"What is someone behind me about to kill me or something?" asked Naruto bluntly, before he tipped his head backwards and checked for himself.

Naruto blinked once.

He blinked Twice.

He blinked a third and final time.

And then he stared up into a pair of onyx eyes, which were laid upon a smug, petite face. A face he took a few seconds to recognise, even though the golden locks of hair which adorned the person's hair were unique in their style.

"Yes… Temari-san… was it?" Naruto asked.

"That's right, Naruto-kun, was it?" Temari asked patiently, but before Naruto could give his affirmation she continued, "Or was it Unstoppable?" As she finished speaking a small smile stole its way onto her face.

Naruto arched an eyebrow at the suffix, but didn't comment on it. "Unstoppable by nature, not by name." Naruto said mockingly.

"I like you Blondie." said the Kunochi from sand amusedly, only to frown slightly as Naruto retorted, "You are likable yourself, Blondett."

"Enough of this nonsense, I need to talk to you." she paused for a moment before adding on, "Alone." to which both Sasuke and Hinata scowled.

"Why?" asked Naruto confusedly, it was one thing to have friendly banter in public with ninja from an allied village in public, bug Naruto had no other business with her, he was sceptical about her purpose, but he doubted she had anything up her sleeve, she in fact, lacked even the fan he had seen her with, prior to the exam beginning.

"Alright." Naruto finally said as he slowly stood up from his chair, he took brief note of the twin looks of distrust upon Sasuke and Hinata's face as he began to walk behind Temari, who had begun to walk towards the main entrance to the room. As they walked, Naruto's eyes fell upon the two other teams which were there, those being Hanabi's team, and two third's of the team from sand.

The first thing Naruto saw was Tenten's indignant glare, which was directed at both him, and Temari. Naruto had half an urge to laugh out loud, but the moment his eyes landed upon the white of Hanabi's eyes, he had to hold in a wince. Last night, although on the surface it had seemed like a fall out between them it wasn't, it was more of a bonding session. The glare was out of place in the situation, and Naruto felt it had no call for.

Naruto forced himself to tear his dejected gaze from Hanabi and eviscerate the emotion from his facial features, his eyes soon found themselves upon the team from Sand, he was slightly surprised to find that only the man in black, Kankuro, was glaring at him, the red headed boy, Gaara was completely ignoring everything but his plate, which had been rearranged, crushed and melded into an animalistic shape, he couldn't tell exactly what it was though, it was highly abstract, whether on purpose, or because Gaara lacked any artistic talent Naruto didn't know, nor did he honestly care.

Naruto's eyes switched back to Hanabi one last time, only to find that she had turned away, back to the table, Tenten however, was still glaring at Temari, and no longer himself. A second later, as Naruto continued to walk his line of sight became hard to continue to hold while walking away the collective group.

"Now." Temari said as they exited both the sight range of the rest of the Genins. "I lied, I didn't need to ask you something, I wanted to tell you something, as I said before I like you." she said as she fidgeted with her hands.

Naruto stared at Temari perplexed.

"Look, you're beautiful, and you seem to have a great personality but I don't think it'd work out between us, even though we're both blondes." Naruto said carefully, he took note that the further he went into the sentence the pinker Temari's cheeks became.

"That's not it, you idiot!" snapped Temari indignantly as she reached behind her back, only to grasp at thin air.

As her fingers felt thin air Temari frowned, before calming down and reminding herself what she was going to say. She wouldn't admit it, but even though she hadn't wanted to instigate anything remotely close to what Naruto said, the fact that he would have turned her down stung. But she ignored the blow to her self esteem for the moment.

"If you have to fight against my brother, Gaara, in any part of the exam, forfeit." Temari said nervously, Naruto noticed that every few seconds she took to glancing over his shoulder, most likely to check if anyone was coming.

"Why?" Naruto demanded to know.

"Because he'll kill you." snapped Temari before she stepped up to Naruto and glared, "And there isn't anything you'll be able to do to survive, because he can't be stopped, and he'll kill you!"

Naruto stared into Temari's eyes critically. Through his many hours of being around Hanabi, Naruto had picked up an ability of hers, of all Hyuuga's, he was able to gauge a person's honesty with their eyes, while not as strong as the Hyuuga's, he was able to easily pick out the truth from someone who was not trying to hide it by their eyes, and Temari was not hiding anything, as far as Naruto could tell.

A small smile blossomed on Naruto's face. Although he didn't know Temari very well, he had the _slightest_ inkling that he would like her. Without giving it much thought, Naruto tried to allay her fears.

"You don't need to worry, even if Gaara tried to kill me, I doubt he'd manage to, even if I stood there to take it." he said pacifying, Temari's reaction shocked him more then he would have admitted, even as he was being rocked back and forth violently by her hands, which quickly found their way to his shoulders.

"You don't get it! No one can beat Gaara." she said angrily.

Naruto shrugged lightly.

"I commend you on your faith in your brother, but the odds right now are that I'll beat him if I face him, and as you said, that's a big if, so you don't need to worry." he said calmly as he gripped Temari's wrists and gently pried them from his shoulders.

Temari 'hmphed' lightly and turned her head upwards.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you, Naruto." she said with a tone of finality, before stepping to the side and walking around Naruto, and back to the breakfast room.

Naruto's good spirits were slightly lowered, both because of Temari's reaction to his confidence in his ability, and the fact that she had such absolute faith in her brother's. He supposed he couldn't blame her, everyone in the exam were supposedly the elite Genin of each of the villages. Gaara _had_ to have some tricks up his sleeve, Naruto reasoned.

"Naruto-kun?" asked a voice Naruto knew to be Tenten's.

"Ah, Tenten you found Naruto-kun!" exclaimed a voice Naruto knew, could be no one other then Rock Lee.

"Yeah, I did, can you go back and tell Hanabi we found him; she might be worried." Tenten managed to say innocently, yet serious enough for Lee to take her word as an order on the ranks of their sensei.

"What are you doing out here Tenten?" Naruto asked perplexedly to which Tenten smiled lightly.

"The blonde girl." Tenten spat out. " Came back a few minutes ago, but you didn't, so I decided to come and find you, Lee wanted to come along as well encase you were in trouble." she answered before stepping up to Naruto and pouting.

"You didn't come and sit at our table but when some girl you don't know wants to talk with you, you just agree? That's not very nice, what did you talk about anyway?" Tenten said hotly as she folded her arms across her chest.

"It doesn't concern you, don't worry about it." Naruto said dismissively with a small smile upon his face, "We should go back, or else Lee might think something happened to you to."

Tenten frowned.

"Let's stay here and talk for a bit, please?" asked Tenten hopefully as she inched slightly closer to Naruto.

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly before he shook his head.

"No, I should get back, my team might be worried to, and I didn't really finish eating." explained Naruto, before he began to walk past Tenten slowly, fully expecting her to follow along with him.

She however, didn't seem to want to go along with his plans, she reached out and grasped his upper forearm tightly and pulled him back, it would have worked, had Naruto not jerked his arm out of the way as her finger's closed down upon his arm.

"Don't." said Naruto without emotion, before he started walking back again. Tenten remained still for a few moments, shocked, but quickly came to Naruto's side and began to walk with him. She fidgeted a bit at first, before she smiled coyly and grasped his hand, intertwining her fingers with his; a small frown appeared on her face at the lack of reaction form Naruto's hand. Naruto's face didn't change either; he remained as stoic as ever as they walked closer and closer to the eatery, until they came within a stone throw of the door. It was then that Naruto slipped his finger's out from Tenten's, which had been loosened as they continued to walk.

Naruto's eyes scanned the tables as both he and Tenten entered the room. As there were only three teams so far that had entered the tower, it was easy to survey them in order. First on his list to survey, was his own table, he was surprised to find that Hinata was glaring at Tenten, not only that, but she also had her Byakugan active. Sasuke however was staring thoughtlessly at the wall in front of him.

His eyes found their way to Temari's team next, which was, like every other table which had a team on it, missing someone. Temari was sitting across from Kankuro, their table was absent of Gaara. Temari's eyes kept flickering to him and back to the plate in front of her, her brother seemed absolutely clueless to her sister's actions.

And finally there was Hanabi and Lee, while at first both Hanabi and Lee seemed reserved, which was strange for Lee, and then Tenten sat down to the right of Hanabi, and Naruto was able to see her eyes. They were perfectly normal, Hanabi was completely stoic, or rather, that was what Naruto would say if he were anyone else, Hanabi's eyes had shifted lightly, the way they had shifted could have only meant one thing; She was very angry, but why, Naruto could only wonder.

"Hanabi-Chan?" called out Naruto.

Hanabi snapped her head towards Naruto, and momentarily glared, before her look softened. She tilted her head to the side curiously.

"Want…" began Naruto without any clue to what he was going to say.

"Want?" repeated Hanabi bemusedly.

"Do you want to go for a walk with me?" he said after a few awkward seconds.

Hanabi stared at Naruto for a few seconds, well aware that every single person that knew Naruto had their attention focused on her. She was also aware that despite whatever Naruto had had to relive he was still the same boy he had always been, despite the few major attitude adjustments he had come into. Some of which, no one else had picked up on. One, which Hanabi had no intention of making use of in any situation.

"Of course." she answered casually as she stood up from the table she was sitting at.

As Hanabi walked past him, Naruto turned around and began to walk side by side with her out of the eatery. Five minutes later, with no small amount of no-direction walking, they found themselves back at the same place they had been late the previous night. Hanabi walked ahead to the rail and spun around languidly, before leaning backwards against it, with her arms resting atop of the metal support.

"So what _did_ you really want?" asked Hanabi innocently.

"I didn't want anything." answered Naruto truthfully, causing Hanabi to frown.

"Well that's a let down." Hanabi said with a small pout, before it vanished.

"Want to make a bet?" asked Hanabi innocently as she leaned off of the railing which surrounded the edge of arena.

"What kind of bet?" Naruto asked slowly.

"Nothing large, or anything, it could be, that either of us has to do one thing that the other says to, and the prerequisite for winning the bet is…" Hanabi took on a thoughtful look for a moment before she openly smirked.

"If there is a next part of the exam, whoever finishes quickest wins." she explained, before she paused for a moment, "Unless you don't think you'd stand a chance." she said innocently.

Naruto frowned deeply for a moment at Hanabi's utter self confidence.

"Just for that, I'm going to beat you, and I'm going to make you dye your hair blonde again and keep it that way." said Naruto nonchalantly, before grinning at Hanabi.

Hanabi scowled, before slowly her lips curved upwards into a smile, a smile which disturbed Naruto.

"Then its set, now you just sit back and relax, there isn't any real reason for you to try after all, you'll just end up losing o me, like always." Hanabi mocked Naruto lightly, before yet again finishing with a comment which riled Naruto up, even more then the last. "But don't worry, I won't make you do anything too bad, in fact you'll probably enjoy it on some level."

Naruto scowled deeply.

"I'm going to enjoy making you eat your words." he stated before turning around and beginning to walk away.

"Walking away from me again?" called out Hanabi bemusedly.

Naruto froze in mid-step and turned around yet again.

This time however he stalked right up to Hanabi, who arched an eyebrow at his action, and raised his hand up in front of her face. A second later he did something Hanabi had not been expecting; He flicked her nose.

"You just hush." Naruto said, before smiling one last time and walking away.

* * *

**Opinions please? I'm not so sure about this chapter.**


	27. Journey of the Mind, Battle of the Body

**1This chapter is exactly 12,200 words. more then twice the length I'd set as the average for this story, which mean's you all should be damn satisifed after reading this. I'm not going to say much, or rather, anything at all. I'm too tired, and i feel like watching some Tomb Raider, anyway, enjoy it if you can, and any feed back would be appreciated.**

**2 I normally wouldn't comment about a review in here, ever since they implemented the Review system I haven't had the need to, however, this particular review warrants it.**

_"You bitchy-hebi woman i despise you this is the framework of MY story created 2 years ago in Japan when i went for a visit!  
I curse you to a life worse than the seventh dimension of hell!" By _Tori Kasyike Oliyrtafe

**As I said, I normally wouldn't but as you can see this isn't exactly something I can just ignore.**** I'll list the thing's I find offensive in it.**

**1. I'm a man, please read my profile, I honestly don't think I act like a woman at all, so please respect my gender. Also, if you can't be bothered clicking on my name to find out then please note 'Jon' at the end of each of the Author notes. Jon is pronounced John, and is part of the name Jonathon, which is my name, not at all feminine, in my opinion.  
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**2. Since this was for the first chapter I will assume that they are refering to what happened to the Kyuubi. As far as I know, I have read no other stories which coincide with exactly what occured. If I ahd read it somewhere before I wouldn't have used it, I make it a point to be as original as I can at all times. As noted by the title of the story.**

**3. Hell doesn't exactly have dimensions, if you wish to believe Dante's writing, Hell has Nine levels, So please, if you are going to condem me, please send me as far down as you can, I'm a very egotisical person when it concerns my own damnation, and I expect nothing but the worse possible.**

**4. Please leave contact details next time so I don't have to defile the reader's eyes with my discontentment with your reviews.**

**3 Stal you dweeb, thanks for pointing out the errors! Everyone thank St. Alicon for pointing out the flaws early on so you don't have to suffer! (No sarcasm.) **

**Jon**

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Naruto smiled at Hanabi, who had an indignant look upon her face, before he about-faced and began to walk away. His smile grew wider as his ears caught wind of the obscenities Hanabi mumbled as he walked out of her sight. 

He, ever since he had entered the tower, had been having a strange sense of oppression which weighed down upon him. No matter how hard he tried to ignore it, he could ignore neither it, nor the pain, which was even still going through his body. The pain had lessened to the point where it was a simple scratch, which just broke the skin, but it was still there. Although, the uncertainty he felt was kept only to when he was in the presence of others, while it was slightly less with Hanabi, it would not escape him, unless he was completely alone.

And so he sought solitude, climbing higher and higher in the tower until he had reached far past the levels they were supposed to enter. Past the signs which read 'Off Limit's to Genin, Instant disqualification upon being found past this point', but Naruto did not care, he reasoned, he could easily avoid being seen either way, he would remain. It took seemingly forever to navigate the maze like upper structures, but what seemed like eternity Naruto finally came to rest upon the literal top of the tower, above him the sky stretched endlessly, clear as any day he had seen, far down below he could see the canopy of the tree's, but no sounds, or visions of fighting came to him, for once, he was utterly alone, and at peace.

But- even with that small piece of calm he had attained, the small bit of sanctity of mind he needed to reach faded away. Without the presence of his friends around him or anyone at all, without the overbearing sense of being pulled down to distract him, his mind kept jumping to a single line of thought. A line of thought, which revolved around a single subject; Orochimaru. No matter how hard Naruto tried to put the serpentine man out of his thought's, but that proved impossible, as every single fibre of his body was tainted, from the very inner fabric of his body, hat being his muscles, to the tissue which composed his brain.

The most glaringly obvious thing to have happened to his body was his eye, his left eye. Never before had his eye seemed to gorge itself on chakra, there was a supposed limit to the tissues ability to absorb, store and use chakra. That was the reason that the body limited itself to twenty percent of its available chakra, because when a certain amount of chakra had been infused with tissue, it began cellular degeneration. When he had been fighting Orochimaru in the forest his judgement had been impaired, that much was obvious, from the fact that he had attacked with little to no plans, to the actuality that he had pushed more chakra into his eye then should have been humanly possible without the eye becoming unusable. In fact, without a doubt, the amount he had put in should, have caused his eye to explode. Naruto thanked his lucky stars that it was not the case. However, at the same time, he condemned them; there was no way that should have been possible naturally.

Which left one possibility, the single possibility that was obvious. Orochimaru, as he had done with the rest of his body, had managed to pervert the nature of his eye. The original function, if Naruto assumed the ability to perceive actions at a highly developed rate, was fine. However, Orochimaru was only able to influence his actions once the doujutsu had been activated. That worried Naruto slightly; He was unable to control his own body, he had been unable to directly influence at all, and at the same time, he had been completely aware.

Never the less, Naruto resolved to understand what had happened, and if possible work around the disadvantage within the advantage that the bastard had given him. That was another reason he had wanted solitude. Without anyone around him, the chances were that he would be able to move his understand forward via practical application without chance anyone would realise what he had been doing. As it was, he doubted anyone knew what had happened to his eye.

Under the cloudless sky, Naruto sat down. The calm that radiated with him was unabated as before, in fact, with the gentle breeze which seemed to flow endlessly over him he found himself at a new level of tranquillity. Naruto slowly closed his eyes and shifted his legs under him until they came into a stressless position. Ever so slowly, Naruto combined the two separate components of his chakra and gentle ebbed them towards his eye. He had expected it to take a fair while, and a fair amount of chakra to activate. However, he was mistaken. A shiver ran through his body as his eye malformed under his eyelid. It felt disgusting; Naruto could feel the changes against his eyelid.

Ever so slowly, Naruto lifted his eyelid up and revealed his eye to the world. While he had no time to be shocked prior, when he had been engaged in battle with Orochimaru, there was no such distractions to take his mind away from the sheer magnitude of the eye as opposed to his normal eye. Without any objects moving within his sight, all Naruto could assess was the small differences that the eye showed him.

The first and foremost, was that his vision on his left side had increased exponentially. In fact, it was beginning to make him slightly nauseous, even though it had been less then a minute since it's activation. A sound from overhead had Naruto snap his head upwards, it took milliseconds to identify the source of the noise, and Naruto in the aftermath of those milliseconds was grateful, the area of his vision had shrunk exponentially and was focused upon a bird which was flying overhead.

The appearance of the bird had allowed him a second thing, other then to remove the nauseousness that had begun to overtake him. It wasn't immediate, the focusing upon the bird, so it allowed Naruto a few seconds of insight into the working's of the eye. The speed at which he was able to view the avian's motions had been average for a second or so before his eye had focused upon the bird. After that however, the motion's had become slow, so slow in fact, that Naruto could probably knock the bird out of the sky with ease, if his aim, which was average, held up. The moment that his focus was removed from the bird however, his eye's vision range had increased again to it's first area. Naruto, however, found that the feeling's of nauseousness had evaporated.

Naruto reached up to cover his left eye, before, with his right eye, he focused upon the bird again. It was moving in the average speed Naruto would have assumed a bird of it's size and species would be capable of. Without hesitation, Naruto broke his hand away from his left eye, and allowed it to focus on the bird. As had happened before, the range of his vision had shrunk, and the bird's movement's had become laboured. It was at that moment, that Naruto noticed a secondary change; The bird's feather's had become vivid, in fact, Naruto wouldn't have been surprised if he was able to count the exact number of feather's it had upon it's wing.

Having decided that he had 'toyed' with the eye implant enough, Naruto briefly wondered how he was supposed to deactivate it, before he felt a small disturbance in his chakra located at, amazingly enough, his left eye. The disturbance in it's entirety was just a small siphon which was located at his eye. A small halt in the chakra flowing past the region had his vision black out, before slowly reforming to a natural function, much to Naruto's relief.

A frown formed upon Naruto's lips as his chakra went back to it's formal routes. Something else was wrong, had he not been working with his chakra with his mind entirely focused upon it, Naruto wouldn't have noticed, his techniques had been working as well as ever, but then, his proficiency was beyond what was needed for the majority of his techniques. The highest echelons however required the utmost control, a small slip and he would be ravaged by his own chakra, as happened many times when he had been training, and without a certain blue haired Hyuuga medic, he wasn't sure he'd have the ability to go on in one piece.

His chakra was erratic, by all accounts it should have been as smooth as the flow of water from a tap which was releasing water at an average pace, with minimal pressure, in other words, a calm flow. It wasn't, however, instead it was easy for Naruto to compare it to a river littered with jagged spike's. The water, like his chakra was moving impulsively, at certain area's it was worst. Certain area's, such as his muscles. It didn't help that his tenketsus were still healing.

One thing, that had become obvious when Naruto had taken up meditation, was while when he was calm, and completely undisturbed, his mind, his body, his soul, were perfectly calm, nothing could throw him from the state- or so he had thought. His chakra had begun to react to his emotions, even though he was unable to properly focus on them. In the state, he for all purposes, unable to control his chakra. In a normal situation, out of his calm, he would have been horrified. But as it were, he couldn't care any less. His chakra had begun to rise in fluctuations, steadily.

"Uzumaki Naruto." called out a blank voice.

Had Naruto not been certain that it was a male voice, he would almost swear he had gone back in time and that whoever it was, was Hanabi. As it were, Naruto partially recognised the voice, it was the same voice he had heard when he had first met Temari and Kankuro, it was her brother; Gaara.

"Gaara." said Naruto unsurely as he forced his chakra down and tried to calm it.

The act proved hard on a good day. Placing together the alterations which had occurred in his body and with the mental calm which had been placed upon him moments before he was unable to substantially force his chakra down. And it proved to be a good thing moments later as a yellow spiky cloud erupted towards Naruto from Gaara's position. Had he noticed a fraction of a second later Naruto wouldn't have been able to avoid it at all. As it were he had been slightly slow, and had paid the price as a spurt of crimson issued from his arm. The sand had flowed past him and grinded away a small fragment of skin.

With his chakra fluctuating and raging against his control, it wasn't very hard to get it into a violent form. Naruto lashed out against the yellow cloud, which he came to realise was sand, with his chakra. The wave of chakra tore through the sand particles, causing them to fall apart, but the moment they hit the ground again they began to gather, but instead of moving towards him they withdrew back to a common point, which was Gaara.

Naruto scowled lightly as he felt the skin covering his shoulder slowly reform. As with his eye it wasn't an entirely nice feeling. His eyes were focused on Gaara, who had a similar expression upon his face. It didn't last long, for a moment Gaara's visage was calm, before it cracked into a mask of agony, his hands found their way to his head and clutched it, a series of grunts came from Gaara before he straightened again and his eyes landed upon Naruto's.

"Mother doesn't want your blood." he said bewilderedly before going blank.

"She says it has been tainted." the red headed boy said in a monotone voice.

For the moment all hostile feeling's from Gaara disappeared, and in their stead a curiosity began to show.

"How did you taint your blood?" Gaara asked blankly, as if he was not interested in his own question at all.

"That doesn't concern you." Naruto spat out angrily as he forced his chakra to calm down again, against it's volition. "Why the hell did you attack me?!" Naruto demanded to know as his eyes scanned Gaara for any sign of hostile intent, there, however, was a complete lack of what had previously been abundant in the form of the attack he had launched, which had drawn the blood, which 'she' had called Tainted.

"Because I wanted to kill you" he stated as if it were obvious, despite the complete lack of emotions which should have been parading across his face.

"Why the hell would you want to do that?" asked Naruto perplexed as he finally regained complete control of his chakra. His mind briefly turned to the conversation he had had with Temari.

"Because it is the purpose which I was created for." Gaara said calmly.

"Purpose?" Naruto echoed bemusedly as his brow furrowed.

"Every living essence has a purpose, I was created to destroy all traces of human life." the red headed boy explained. As he spoke the loose grains of sand which littered the roof began to accumulate and withdraw to Gaara, before they drifted upwards and spiralled into the gourd which Gaara had upon his back.

"What is your purpose?" asked Gaara curiously.

A small frown appeared on Naruto's face as he considered Gaara's words. Had he been asked that question the moment he had become a Genin he would have easily been able to answer, and the answer would have been that his purpose was to become an ANBU. However that was no longer a worthwhile purpose, it was a goal, a means to an end. If it had remained a purpose, it would have been a flawed purpose, such as Gaara's current one.

"Your purpose is flawed, what happens once you destroy all of humanity? You'll cease to have a reason to live." Naruto pointed out as he shifted upon his feet.

Normally pointing out that someone's purpose in life was flawed as a sure fire way to get in their bad books, and Naruto had assumed Gaara would have been no different, but as it was, all Gaara did was frown. It appeared that Gaara was thinking, which gave Naruto some time to pick apart the boy's question.

There was no honest answer to his purpose.

"What if someone has no purpose?" asked Naruto out loud by accident, only to realise he had spoken allowed when Gaara answered his question.

"Those without purpose have no excuse to be in this world, they must me exterminated." answered Gaara without looking up to Naruto.

"You have no purpose?" asked Gaara before his eyes flickered to Naruto. At that moment sand began to flow out of the gourd and form into spikes, which hovered ominously above Gaara, all the while pointed to Naruto.

"I'm trying to find my true purpose, like the purpose you gave yourself, my purpose was flawed." Naruto explained slowly as he began to manipulate his chakra again, just in case Gaara decided that he needed to be 'exterminated'.

"Those without purpose have no need to live, but those searching for purpose should be allowed to find it." said Gaara slowly before he began to turn away from Naruto.

"What purpose could have no end? All purposes are flawed thus all purposes mean little." said Gaara blankly, along with his words, the sand spikes which floated above Gaara wavered slightly but remained airborne.

"Protecting those close to you is an endless purpose." stated Naruto calmly as his mind focused upon the deadly sand-made objects in the air.

The words that Naruto had uttered did not sit well with Gaara it seemed. The sand spikes without warning shot towards him like an arrow out of a bow. Instead of dodging, Naruto gathered up his adjacent chakra in front of his body and broke it up into individual 'plates' in front of the various sized spikes. The moment the sand came into contact with the chakra shields they diffused harmlessly only to, as they moved past, form into needle-like projectiles which continued and peppered Naruto's body. The projectiles lost all form as they were forced out of his body via his chakra. Naruto took special note of the fact that his chakra reacted without command to removing the foreign substances.

Naruto grimaced as pain lanced through his chakra circulatory system. He was still in no form to fight. Even shielding himself like that and forcing the sand out of his body was wreaking havoc on his nervous system. No more attacks came at him, Naruto noted absently as he watched Gaara walk away, back the way he, himself had come to the roof.

"I have no such people to protect." Gaara's voice echoed from the stairwell along with his footsteps.

Yet another frown formed upon Naruto's lips as Gaara's words echoed in his mind. Gaara had a brother and a sister, both who were on his team, by that information by itself Naruto doubted in any other situation he would have believed Gaara, without having met him. His sister had seemed nice enough, having gone out of her way to tell him that her brother would probably try and kill him. Then again, the fact that he had made two attack's, one being semi-major and a small one, on him lent a bit of plausibility to the idea that Gaara didn't have any people close to him.

Gaara reminded him of Shino slightly, with his attacks and his personality. They shared some similarities, but only on the surface.

Naruto shook his head and removed his mind from thought's of foreign ninja, and focused upon his inner problems, every single one of them. He didn't have long until the end day of the tournament, he knew that, every single moment of time he wasted was a moment of time he could have used to fix the problems which were inhibiting him, however slightly.

Gaara would be the last person to see Naruto until the morning of the fifth day, at which he would descend into the unrestricted area of the tower, tired and hungry, but despite that, all his inner problems would have been worked out, leaving him in more control of his own body then he had been since he had trained on the last day before his taking the Genin exam all that time ago.

---

Naruto stumbled down the stairwells, he was thoroughly exhausted. His body had gone through all the nourishment from his last meal, while he was lacking in the food department he was mentally satisfied. He was in complete control of his emotions, and more importantly his chakra. The chakra that had comprised the barrier which he had been able to erect in his defence had been illusive in the beginning of his mental quest, but in the end he had found the source secured at his navel, but unfortunately he was unable to access it while he was calm. He had attempted to draw upon it while he was calm and failed, but the more his frustration mounted the easier the chakra came to him. He hypothesised that if he had ever reached a point where he could feel nothing other then rage he would be unstoppable, although afterwards he would be surprised if he would be able to move.

But that didn't matter. With his mind, chakra and body completely in check there was no need for the unforeseen source of energy. But that didn't stop his mind from thinking about it. At first he had assumed it was a by-product of Orochimaru's experimentation. But he quickly realised that it didn't make sense; He had used the energy to protect himself unconsciously when he had been at Orochimaru's mercy.

His mind lingered on the possibility of an advanced bloodline but he haphazardly ignored the prospect, at his level the chakra was unfathomably powerful, his parents if they had access to it would not have been easy to kill, and at least one of them should have remained with him, unless they dumped him. But with such a talent he couldn't understand why they would do that. Unless the backlash killed them. He had observed that every time he had used the energy it would take It's toll on his body, his last bout in using the energy in the forest had his tenketsus ravaged to the point where it hurt to put them to use.

Naruto sniffed the air lightly. A small grin soon formed upon his lips as his nose caught wind of the predictable rich scent of meat. His body hungered for protein, and one sure source of protein was meat. Utilising the ability to recall his steps, Naruto soon found his way back to the breakfast area. To his immense surprise there were more then three teams present. Besides his own, Hanabi's and Gaara's teams, there were four other teams. He could easily recognise the 'Shika-Ino-Cho' team, or rather the Shika and the Ino were easy to spot, the Chou was no doubt behind the massive pile of dishes between them.

Shino's team wasn't as easy to spot, but they were none the less present. Even Sakura was there, relatively unharmed. There was also another team near them, two of the people he did not recognise, but the third he did, the third brought a smile to his face; It was Kabuto.

Naruto's eyes finally landed upon the last new team, one he honestly had not expected to see ever again, despite his last words to the female member of the team. The one and only team from sound were huddled in the corner. The boy with spiky hair seemed to be in perfect health, the bandage-wrapped boy however, seemed to be nursing his arm, his right one, the one Naruto had pulverised the shoulder's cartilage of. The final member seemed to be one of the only people who realised he had entered the room. Kin's obsidian eyes glinted deviously for a single moment, before it was washed away, but Naruto had seen it, he had no doubt Kin meant on some level for him to notice it.

His presence also registered to a few other people. Surprisingly Hinata was oblivious to it. Hanabi and Sasuke however took note almost straight away. Temari's face had a look of relief etched upon it. Naruto supposed she thought that Gaara had killed him. The red headed boy in question also took note of his presence before going back to his food.

"Hey Naruto!" Ino yelled out the moment she noted his presence, which signalled the majority who were still ignorant of his presence, which included The two male sound team members, Kankuro, Lee, Tenten, Chouji, Sakura, Kabuto's entire team and still surprisingly Hinata.

Naruto stood still as a small avalanche of heads turned towards him. Rock Lee was the first person to discard their seat and to rush to Naruto, barraging him with questions.

"Where were you Naruto-kun?! Were you training?! Why haven't you been eating?!" were a few of the question's Naruto could make sense of before his patience was used up, which was surprisingly quick considering how much conditioning he had just put his mind and emotions through.

"Calm down." Naruto commanded, to which, to Naruto's surprise, Lee obeyed immediately.

"I just needed some alone time, In a sense I was training, Because I forgot to." Naruto answered calmly.

The calm seemed to rub off on Lee as he spoke again.

"As I expected, Hanabi-Chan has been gracious enough to explain to I and Tenten why you were acting differently. When she told us of your remarkable recovery I was inspired! Only a worthy rival would battle the tides of insanity and come out on top, stronger then ever!" Lee's clam progressively weakened, although his extremely boisterous nature was superseded by a show of self-restraint.

In the time that Lee had taken up most of the people Naruto knew had gotten up and were already surrounding him in a semi-circle. At the foremost was Sasuke and Hinata who were smiling at him unsurely, which was to be expected in the wake of the time he had taken to himself which was undoubtedly larger then they probably considered normal.

"What took you so long?" asked Sasuke amusedly as he regarded those around him, who seemed to be busting with questions of their own. Unsurprisingly they were predominantly female, making Sasuke feel out of place. Lee however didn't seem to have the same feeling as he waited in semi-baited breath for Naruto's answer.

"Some…difficulties arose that I needed to take care of." Naruto said slowly, not entirely sure that he wanted such potentially hazardous information in the hands of anyone other them himself.

Lee and Tenten shared a knowing look with each other much to Naruto's amusement. Hinata seemed to have some idea also, but Ino seemed to be completely in the dark, something which Naruto had gathered she didn't like, it took only moments before Ino's curiosity got the best of her.

"What happened?!" she demanded to know as she stepped towards Naruto.

Naruto stared at Ino unblinking for a few moments before he frowned and shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about it right now." Naruto explained calmly before he glanced over Ino's shoulder to the tables of food beyond the small gathering.

"Tell me!" Ino insisted, going as far as to grasp Naruto's hands to stop him as he was about to walk away.

Naruto glared at Ino lightly before he removed her hands from his without a pause.

"I said I don't want to talk about it." Naruto repeated as he began to walk past the blonde haired girl.

"So you'll tell everyone else but me?!" Ino said angrily before she stomped her foot down. "I'm your friend dammit! Tell me!" she demanded shrilly.

Naruto's glare intensified and something inside him, which had been building ever since he had met Ino, snapped.

"Shut up." he spoke coldly, causing even Hanabi, who was still sitting down at her table to bask in the complete lack of warmth that was usually associated with Naruto's voice.

"You aren't my friend, You have done nothing for me. I am your friend however, as I've shown by putting up with you and helping you whenever it was possible. But don't _ever _tell me what to do you won't **like** the consequences." Naruto's voice was quiet, yet it seemed to cut through the room like a Wakizashi through tissue paper.

Ino seemed to shrink under Naruto's harsh words. At first she seemed to be unable to speak, unable to come up with anything to rebuke Naruto's comments. The reality of his words stung her more then she let show. She swallowed a single time before trying to speak again.

"Is… is that what you really think?" she asked shakily as she stared across into Naruto's infuriated eyes.

"It is." Naruto said sharply, before turning away from Ino and walking towards the table he had seen Sasuke and Hinata sit at, where there was an extra plate filled with food, his own, where he had eaten all those days prior.

Ino could not muster any words as she watched Naruto walk away from her. Indignation soon took root in the place of confusion.

"Is that what you think friends are?! Just something you can use?! I don't know how Hanabi can stand you treating her like that." Ino began to rant, drawing Naruto's attention back to her.

"Hanabi isn't my friend." snapped Naruto icily, drawing looks of surprise from the Hinata, Sasuke and Hanabi's team, along with Hanabi herself. "She's much more then that, she's my…" Naruto trailed off unsurely. His closing statement caused Hanabi to smile inwardly, not that anyone noticed with their attention fixated upon Naruto and Ino

The moment he opened his mouth to retort Ino continued. "Do you even know what a friend is!? A friend is someone you trust and care about, not just a means to an end, where the hell did you get that kind of idea from anyway?!" she demanded to know angrily.

"A good _friend_ of mine gave me that definition of a friend." said Naruto calmly.

Ino began to scream incoherently before turning upon her heel and storming out of the dining area.

Naruto shrugged to himself lightly before sitting down and beginning to eat, oblivious to his friends shock and discomfort. After a few moments the rest of the Genin who were standing up when back to their tables in silence, and the silence continued for a few minutes, before Hinata, who had been fidgeting the entire time couldn't stand it anymore.

"Naruto-kun, what am I to you?" she asked quietly, almost silently, if there had not been complete and utter silence in the room Naruto doubted he would have been able to hear her.

"You're Hinata-sama." Naruto said as if it were obvious, before taking note of the mortification that appeared upon her face and correcting himself. "Hinata-chan."

Naruto didn't react at all as Hinata visibly brightened and gifted him with a smile.

Across from Naruto Sasuke sat silently observing Naruto. Inside he was filled with dread, his mind was going back to the day when Naruto had failed that fateful exam and left the Academy. His memory was as vivid as ever, and he could recall the exact words he had spoke to Naruto. Combining Naruto's comment with his recollection he felt ashamed, in more then one way. At various points through Naruto's meal he almost gathered the courage and wits he needed to speak his mind, but it was never enough as the conversation that Naruto and Ino shared rang through his mind.

"Are you gonna eat that?" asked Naruto suddenly causing Sasuke to stop his observations.

"Huh?" Sasuke grunted in confusion before glancing down at his plate and seeing some left over's.

"No, you can have it." Sasuke said nonchalantly before he tore his attention away from Naruto.

As Naruto reached over across the table to pick up the piece of food with his chopsticks his senses caught hint of something unexplainable, he snapped his head to the right just in time to feel an influx of chakra followed by an explosion of smoke.

"Let's get this party started!" shouted a female voice from beyond the smokescreen.

A pale hand slashed through the smoke, and almost instantly the smoke was dispersed revealing the second examiner; Mitarashi Anko in all her semi-indecent glory.

"You punks follow me!" she exclaimed rambunctiously as she thrust her fist up into the air and began marching towards the exit which led to the junction of all the corridors.

"Oh it's just her." Naruto mumbled to himself as he resumed stealing from Sasuke's plate, ignoring the fact that everyone in the room, even Hinata and Sasuke had risen and were moving towards the exit.

Anko's hand twitched lightly, and then she vanished, to the surprise of everyone who was standing. A second later she reappeared behind Naruto with a Kunai in her hand, as she brought it around to Naruto's neck she frowned, she was unable to move the Kunai closer.

"That's the second time you've tried that, Anko-senpai, After the first time everything will fail." Naruto said calmly as he pushed the kunai away from his throat with a single chopstick.

"Seem's like someone _has_ gotten even better." Anko said silkily.

"You remind me of someone." said Naruto as calmly as he could. "You have the same… aura as him."

"Are you related to Orochimaru?" asked Naruto suddenly as he turned around upon his chair to face Anko.

The act didn't work out as well as one would have hoped, Naruto was only just able to make contact with the woman's eyes without tilting his head too far up. Naruto frowned as he found Anko's hand grasp the front of his shirt and pull him upwards as she leant down.

"Repeat that name." she hissed out.

Naruto blinked before repeating it.

"Orochimaru."

A scowl appeared upon Anko's face before she shoved Naruto back down into his seat and turned to face the rest of the Genin in the room.

"All of you follow the sign's to the arena, we're missing someone else so someone go find her, you don't need to, I suppose, just go." she yelled out semi-calmly, before turning back to Naruto.

"We need to have a little talk Uzumaki." she whispered out angrily before grabbing Naruto's shirt again with one hand and raising her other hand up into a seal. Naruto frowned lightly as his body seemed to warp along with Anko, and the world seemed to blur, only to reform in a blank room.

Without the seat under him to balance his weight Naruto fell to the ground unceremoniously. While Anko remained standing up glaring down at him.

"That wasn't very nice." said Naruto blandly as he stood up in front of Anko.

"How do you know Orochimaru?" she demanded to know, before thinking for a moment and asking a second question. "What made you think I was related to him?"

"So you do know him personally." Naruto said to himself.

"Answer the god-damn question!" snarled out Anko angrily as she stepped forwards towards Naruto.

"He gave you that didn't he?" asked Naruto emotionlessly as he pointed to Anko's neck.

Subconsciously Anko's hand found it's way to her neck, covering an inky black mark.

"As your superior I order you to answer my god damn questions." Anko managed to say calmly.

"He's the one who decided to experiment on my body." Naruto said calmly as he stared up into Anko's eyes. "He did the same to you didn't he?" Naruto asked blandly.

"You didn't mention any of this before the exam, perhaps you saw him in the exam?" Anko mocked Naruto lightly.

"Actually I did." snapped Naruto angrily.

Anko stared down silently into Naruto's eyes as he glared up into hers.

"He seems to have a little fetish about my team-mates."

"First he tried to get Hinata, then he got me and decided to play Mad Scientist then he gave my other team-mate a hicky, I mean he's disturbed really."

"Wait, he bit the Uchiha on the neck?!" Anko demanded to know.

"He did." Naruto said slowly.

"You still didn't tell me how you know him." Naruto said as his eyes narrowed.

"He was my sensei." said Anko offhandedly, at the look that Naruto gave her she continued. "Don't worry, I want to kill him." she assured Naruto before seeming to zone out into her own world.

"What did he do to you?" Anko asked softly as she kneeled down in front of Naruto.

Naruto frowned lightly as he stared across into Anko's purple eyes. Naruto couldn't find the words to explain what had been done to him, so he settled for a small demonstration. Anko's body seized up as she watched Naruto's left eye discolour and his pupil divide.

"I see." Anko murmured quietly as she stood up again.

"We need to get back to the arena and continue with the exam." she said conflicted.

She smiled down at Naruto half heartedly before placing her hand upon his shoulder again, before bringing her other hand up into a replica of the seal she had used prior. She took note of the discontent upon Naruto's face.

"Don't worry, we're still going to see what you're good at after the exam." she said to Naruto with a wink, causing Naruto, much to her satisfaction, to flush lightly. Just like before the room seemed warp before vanishing and being replaced with the slightly familiar view of the arena.

Naruto stared down into the fighting zone, where, to his surprise, the third exam had already started, Both Kiba and Shikamaru were standing on opposite sides of the ground.

"Oh, what an ass, they started without me." Anko said with a pout, before turning to Naruto and slapping him on the shoulder.

"Talk to you later you freak." she said happily to Naruto before beginning to walk away.

Naruto frowned lightly as he surveyed the balcony's surrounding the arena; The woman had dumped him on the opposite side of everyone, he was half tempted to walk around to his team-mates, but decided quickly, that he'd prefer the view from the angle he was at. Ino glaring across the arena at him didn't help the idea much. For some reason it seemed that Kabuto was missing, as far as Naruto could see, he was unable to find his grey haired friend.

"Long time no talk." whispered a voice into his ear prompting Naruto to turn his head towards the source.

"Kin-san." said Naruto neutrally as his eyes met the seemingly delicate face of Kin.

"What did the examiner want to talk to you about? Was it something to do with that man you spoke about? Orochimaru?" she asked innocently as she stepped up to the side of him.

"You heard that?" Naruto asked surprised.

He hadn't been very vocal when he had been talking, he was sure only the examiner could hear him, along with his two team-mates. Kin simply smiled and tapped her ears.

"Not hidden sound just for our techniques and lovely singing voices." Kin said amusedly, which to Naruto's surprise, drew a smile from his lips, but he quickly squelched the show of emotion.

"Yes, she wanted to know why I mentioned him." Naruto said calmly as he stared down into the arena.

A frown appeared upon his lips as he watched Kiba throw down a set of smoke grenades at Shikamaru's feet. Naruto honestly felt like going down there and smacking some sense into Kiba, but it didn't really matter if he did or not, Kiba was about to get his ass handed to him.

Five seconds later Naruto's unspoken prophecy came true as Shikamaru's shadow shot towards the smoke cloud which was barrelling towards him.

"Kage mane; success." Shikamaru said in a nonchalant manner as he removed his hands from the seal that he had placed them in.

"Kiba you idiot." he said with a sigh. "You might have won if you hadn't used the smoke bombs."

"Shut up you bastard." snarled an angry Kiba from within the smoke. Somewhere else in the smoke a few angry barks sounded out, but Shikamaru only sighed and turned around. He began to walk away, to none of the leaf's surprise both Kiba and Akamaru had walked out of the smoke, in the exact opposite direction that Shikamaru had. The difference was that, while Shikamaru had a lot of room to walk, Kiba didn't; he had moved backwards at the beginning of the fight to avoid the Nara's technique until he could work a way around it to attack.

"Surrender or get a concussion, yeah?" Shikamaru said as he glanced over his shoulder to check if the distance between Kiba and the wall was appropriate.

Kiba grinded his teeth together and glanced out of the corner of his eye to Akamaru, who, to his surprise, was also caught in Shikamaru's technique, he didn't know how it was possible with the different physical disposition, but it seemed it was. While he didn't care for his own health, he wouldn't allow his best friend to get hurt, just because he wanted to win.

"I… I give up." spat out Kiba angrily.

"Winner is Nara Shikamaru." a sickly looking man to the side of the arena said nauseously, before covering his mouth with his hand and coughing.

"Next up is." the man began before he glanced over to a panel high above the arena on a wall. "Yamanaka Ino vs. Tsuchi Kin, would both combatants please move to the floor." he said after he checked the board, which had brought up two names.

"Good luck." Naruto said to Kin as she began to walk away.

"I don't need luck, although." she paused before glancing back to Naruto unsurely. " I do need you to help me with the other matter." she said as she bit down upon her bottom lip.

Naruto nodded to Kin.

"As soon as this is over I'll take you to see someone who can make it so." he explained to Kin, before turning his vision back to the arena floor, where Ino was standing, glaring up at both him and Kin.

"You'd better go." he said after a few more seconds of Ino glaring up at them.

"Yeah, yeah, this won't take long." Kin said dismissively with a wave of her hand.

"You shouldn't underestimate her, or you'll lose." Naruto said amusedly as he watched Kin jump over the balcony and land on the floor.

Naruto watched on as Kin and Ino faced each other in the middle of the arena. Ino looked livid, she was glaring at Kin with a ferocity he had rarely seen on her face, if ever. Kin however, was not reacting in the simplest to Ino's glare, on the contrary, she seemed to be smiling happily at the blonde girl. Kin began to talk, but Naruto couldn't hear her words from where he was, he doubted anyone could except Ino and the referee. Whatever she said it caused Ino's glare to vanish, and instead it was placed with a look of shock, before the glare returned.

The referee raised his hand up above his hand before glancing to both of the combatants and throwing it down. At the instance all three of the people on the arena floor jumped backwards. Kin at first seemed to be a patience person, or at least, that's what Naruto had thought at first. Before she had even touched the ground after her jump she had already attacked, and immediately put Ino on the defensive.

Naruto only got a small look at the projectiles Kin launched; She had thrown two needles. Ino however seemed to be nimble enough to dodge the attack. He took special note of the bulge upon the end of both of the needles, which only made sense the moment they struck the wall behind Ino.

A jingle rang throughout the arena, drawing everyone's attentions to the wall behind Ino, including Ino's. That proved to be her first mistake. A cry escaped Ino's lip, and a gush of blood escaped from her shoulder. Kin smirked as she observed the blonde girl, she had no idea why Naruto had worried, the girl had fallen for such a cheap trick, there was basically nothing to worry about.

Ino clutched her shoulder and glared across the arena at the sound Genin. She reached into her weapons pouch and withdrew a kunai. She knew what she had to do, she had to get closer, or else she'd be at a disadvantage. Ino prepared to charge at the girl, but yet again a jingle caught her attention from behind her, she immediately dodged to her right, only to gasp in pain as a piercing pain erupted in her abdomen.

"Strings?" grunted out Ino as she clutched her stomach and glanced at the end of the needle's which were imbedded in the wall.

"That's right." Kin said with a small smile as she dropped a single string which she has tucked around the base of her thumb.

Ino grimaced as she clutched the end of the needle and yanked it out. She was about to charge again when Kin began to talk.

"You know, I'm confused, Naruto spoke of you as if you'd be a challenge, but this is pathetic, Is this all you can do?" Kin asked mockingly as she twirled a single needle between her finger tips.

Ino furrowed her brow, that didn't sound like Naruto's words, if what they had argued about not that long ago was to be remembered. Kin's words weren't entirely impossible, after all he had said _he_ was **_her_** friend even though _she_ wasn't **_ his_**.

"He's rarely wrong." Ino said with a half-hearted smirk as she forced herself to ignore the pain, to prepare for what she was about to attempt.

With a lacklustre flare Ino launched the kunai in her hand at the sound genin across from her, before slipping her finger's into a single seal. Even though she had not shouted the techniques name, as it was tradition by ancient ninja show-ponies, everyone knew the technique, thus the two images of Ino that appeared upon her sides was not unexpected. Simultaneously the three Ino's charged at Kin, to everyone's surprise, except for a few, she was as little as much as a yellow and purple blur as she, and her images ran towards the black haired girl known as Kin.

A frown quickly appeared on Kin's face before she quickly reached into a special weapons cartridge upon her hip and withdrew four more needles. At first she had assumed the girl wouldn't have any interesting attribute, but now, it was obvious that the girl wasn't thin as she could possibility be without looking obscene for a reason. Without the excess weight her enemy was more agile and nimble then one would have first assumed.

Kin hadn't even needed to move to avoid the kunai, it sailed harmlessly over her shoulder before hitting the wall a few meter's back, and to most people's amusement it fell to the ground, and had not imbedded itself in the wall.

"This is boring." shouted out Kin as Ino's blur-ridded form came within ten meter's of her. In a flash of steel Kin flung all five of the needles at the blur's of Ino. It was overkill, probably, but she didn't want to miss, three of the needles were aimed at the Ino's, while the last two were aimed at the outside of the formation.

As Kin predicted the two Ino's on the outside dodged, right into the path of the needles, and instantly vanished. The third Ino, which was in the middle however managed to surprise Kin, and everyone else in the room. The moment the needle can come close she had ducked down, and lunged to the side. The surprise was, that from the single Ino two separate images of her became apparent, each had lunged to a different side and were still charging at Kin, who was instantly put on the defensive as both of the Ino's cocked their arms and slammed their fists forwards at Kin.

Both of the Ino's smirked as Kin, in her surprise, had only managed to get in a position to defend from one of the blows. The Ino she had defended against vanished, as if it had never existed, the second Ino however remained solid as her fist connected with the side of Kin's body, causing the pale black haired girl to cry out in pain. The momentum built up from the charge had given Ino an extra boost in strength.

Ino instantly followed up the Combo with an elbow to Kin's nose, which she was just able to block. The moment her elbow was blocked, Ino kicked off against the ground with her left foot and spun around. As she spun around she arched her foot up into the air, and brought it down upon Kin's collar. Unfortunately for Ino Kin was quick to recover and was able to catch the leaf Genin's heel before it made contact, placing Ino in a compromising position. The reality of the act occurred to ino the second that Kin's fist planted itself in her stomach. One effect of the punch, was Ino being winded, the second was that it had enough force behind it, surprisingly, to send Ino flying backwards for a few meter's. It probably didn't help that Ino was light on her feet.

A low growl came from Kin's lips as her hand rubbed the spot where Ino had managed to hit.

"You bitch, that actually hurt." Kin said as she glanced down at Ino, who was slowly picking herself up off the ground. "I wasn't going to use this, but since you had the audacity to hit me, I think you deserve it."

Kin began to flash through a set of seals with unbelievable fluidity, causing Ino to instantly become cautious, so cautious in fact, that she, herself slipped her hands into a seal, which to some of the people present was familiar, but before she was able to do anything Kin had finished her sealing process.

"Majutsu: Chime of the False Heart" Kin hissed out.

Almost instantly the bell's at the end of the needles began to ring softly, before the volume began to pick up. At first Ino seemed confused, but the confusion was quickly erased and a look of abject terror appeared upon her face. A high pitched scream erupted from her mouth and she began to clutch the sides of her head, before falling backwards onto the ground. Those who knew Ino were shocked and immensely worried, even Naruto was worried, despite his fallout.

"Declare me the winner or I'm going to go for a Deathblow." Kin said calmly as she regarded the Referee.

Amazingly, even over the screams of Ino's voice, Kin's voice managed to carry to the referee and around the stadium, as crisp as it would have been otherwise.

The brown haired referee glanced down at the writhing form of Ino, who was still screaming and frowned, before nodding to Kin and raising his hand, before shouting. ' Winner! '

Kin smiled in satisfaction before bringing her hand up into a half seal and focusing upon Ino's form. Almost instantly Ino's screaming stopped, and she stopped moving, before slowly, she sat up.

From where he was Naruto could see the a small bit of Ino's face, it was blank, as if confused, unthinking, and then, slowly Ino's eyes rose up to meet Kin's, who was smirking down at her, and then Ino's face morphed into an ugly perversion of it's former beauty as it was over taken by rage. With a guttural roar Ino lunged at Kin only to be stopped by the referee.

Kin smiled cheekily at the raging blonde, only to begin to walk away as her attempts to afflict bodily harm on the sound Genin increased.

"The match has been declared, please cease, Yamanaka-san and return to the balcony. The sickly referee said through grunts as he held Ino back, after a few more moments of struggling Ino gave up and stopped trying to enact revenge upon the sound nin.

With that Ino stalked off the arena floor, and made her way back up to her team. Kin on the other hand seemed as casual as ever, despite having such inflicted, from what Naruto could gather, severe mental anguish upon Ino.

"That was fun." Kin said amusedly as she came within normal hearing distance from Naruto, who could only stare shocked at the black haired girl.

Naruto's no responsiveness seemed to quickly get on Kin's nerves, who swatted him on the arm lightly.

"Speak you idiot." she demanded before smiling. "Unless you want a taste of that technique yourself?" she teased lighty, which surprisingly drew Naruto instantly out of his tupor.

"No thanks." he coughed out, before turning his attention to the floor.

Kin's technique disturbed him. The genjutsu had reacted almost immediately upon Ino, he didn't think he'd be able to find the genjutsu's connection in time to stop it from effecting him. Especially since it seemed to be centred on a foreign object, rather then inside the body.

"I was joking." Kin said with a small pout before latching onto Naruto's arm and tugging down upon it.

"Don't you believe me?" she asked softly as she stared up into Naruto's eyes.

Naruto snorted and shook Kin off his arm.

"You can't defeat the master with his own mastery." Naruto said amusedly before swatting Kin upon the nose.

"Begin." shouted a voice from the arena floor, causing Naruto to focus upon the arena floor, to find that Hinata and Chouji were beginning to fight.

Naruto slightly reprimanded himself upon his lack of observational skills and the fact he hadn't had time to wish Hinata luck with her match. He briefly contemplated yelling out, with nothing to object to the idea, he did.

"Good Luck Hinata!" he yelled out, causing Hinata's gaze to find him.

Hinata stared up at him through the Byakugan for a few seconds, before smiling. She quickly jumped away however, as the big moving ball that Chouji had become. The crowd of Genin watched on as Hinata nimbly avoided being run down by the larger then average life wrecking ball that Chouji had become. Naruto could tell, by the amount of chakra Chouji was wasting with his continuous use his Meat tank ability he'd be down soon enough, and if he didn't and just reverted to hand to hand, he'd lose anyway, Hinata was only doing the bare minimum to avoid the attacks, she was as fresh as she could possibly be. Naruto felt sorry for Chouji, he had one of the worse match ups, but then, was there any good match ups for Chouji? His technique really wasn't suited for one on one, kit was suited for doing a large amount of damage to a large area.

The moment Chouji got tired, Hinata struck, and in a few strikes Chouji was unable to properly move, much to no-one's surprise. Naruto felt sorry for large boy. In almost no time at all after the match Naruto's ears twitched as he caught wind of his name, along with a second from the arena floor.

"Uzumaki Naruto versus Kankuro, would both combatants please move to the floor." called out the referee.

Naruto smiled lightly before beginning to walk towards the staircase. His eyes briefly flickered to Hanabi, who had just moved closer to the railing. A small scowl formed over the smile at the_ innocent_ look Hanabi gave him. He wasn't about to lose to Hanabi, he had the means to end the fight in a split second, and that is what he would do.

Half a minute later, Naruto found himself facing Temari and Gaara's brother. Naruto had to admit, he looked slightly different when compared to how he first met him, something was off, but Naruto didn't know what. Before the Referee had even begun to call the match on, Naruto had already forced a portion of his chakra down across to cover Kankuro's body. He doubted Temari would like it very much if he killed her brother, so he was going to go for the next best thing, disabling his limbs, he was going to do what he did to Kin's bandaged ridden team-mate, except not as powerful.

The moment his chakra touched Kankuro however, he knew something was wrong. The face-painted boy's body was not reacting as it should against foreign chakra, there was no subtle pressure against his advances, no nothing, that is, until he let the chakra move over the surface of the boy's skin, he found minute dot's of chakra, exact replicas of a certain ability Aiygou had taught him. They were points of chakra strings, as Naruto followed them back to their source he found them all attached to two points, both points where located in the large object attached to the 'boy's' back.

Naruto smiled viciously as he stared across into 'Kankuro's' eyes. He was going to be clean at first, but since his 'opponent' wasn't exactly human right now, he decided he didn't need to be subtle. The moment that the referee had thrown his hand down, and Kankuro jumped backwards, Naruto lunged at him, To almost everyone's surprise, Naruto's right arm was bathed in a pale blue light.

With an almighty swing of his arm, Naruto backhanded his enemies head. Everyone watched on in morbid horror as Kankuro's head seemed to crumble against the force of the blow Naruto had dealt. Hanabi in particular looked shocked and annoyed, before she unconsciously activated her Byakugan. She understood immediately why Naruto had attacked in such a vicious manner, and allowed a smile to surface upon her lips.

Kankuro's head deformed with a pained expression upon it's face, only to, as it was blasted from his body, explode into fragments. The people in the arena watched on in morbid fascination as Kankuro's head exploded into fragments of food, metal and grains of sand. The body followed in suit as a gush of sand fell off it's joints to the ground, revealing a brown wood puppet.

"Gaara…" Temari said through a slight stutter. "Karasu was made for battle right? It shouldn't be easily destructible, right?"

Gaara nodded his head slightly, he was beginning to feel an urge that had been with him through most of his life.

Temari watched in horror as the blonde haired Genin slashed his hand down across her brother's puppets body. It didn't stop there, Naruto repeatedly slashed at the inanimate body of Karasu, as he continued to slash at it he continued to move faster, and faster, until all Temari could see was a spinning light, signifying where Naruto's arm was. Beyond the light she could see Naruto. A frown appeared upon her lips. He looked like Gaara, the same revel in battle.

After ten second's Naruto stopped. In front of him The body of the puppet was entirely intact, or so it seemed for a single second afterwards, until Naruto brought his foot up in a clean sweep and slammed the heel of it into the puppet's chest. The body of the puppet fell apart around the foot, and behind it the package unwrapped. Revealing a disgruntled, shocked, and horrified Kankuro.

"Give up, I could have killed you easily then along with your puppet, and I _will_ do so if you don't give up." Naruto said with a decidedly disturbing cheer in his voice.

Kankuro could only stare at the blonde Genin in front of him and shudder. He was normally a calm collect person, but this, this was on the level of Gaara, and the boy hadn't even used a foreign object to do the damage like Gaara.

"I-I give up." Kankuro managed to get out as he observed the remains of his weapon. There was no possible way that it could be reconstructed considering the amount of pieces it was in.

"There that wasn't so hard was it?" asked Naruto happily before slapping Kankuro on the shoulder and walking away.

"I haven't even declared the match yet." mumbled the referee before raising his arm up and shouting through a cough. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."

A yelp of pain issued from Kankuro, causing Naruto to look back at his beaten enemy. A glance to the older boy's hand told Naruto that his aim needed more refinement, it was stained with a bit of blood.

As Naruto ascended back to the balcony, he decided, instead of going back to where Kin was, to go and rub it in Hanabi's face, that he had completed his match in under fifteen seconds. But before he made it half way there, the referee had already called out the next two names, which happened to be Sasuke and Shino.

When he saw both of his fellow Genin walking down the stairs towards him, Naruto smiled briefly at them before nodding and wishing them both good luck. The moment he made it up to the balcony he was ambushed by Tenten

"Boom! Crash! Scary! Awesome Naruto!" exclaimed Tenten as she crash tackled Naruto to the floor, unfortunately for Naruto he had been looking for Hanabi, who had seemingly vanished, and had been caught unaware by Tenten.

Naruto stared up bemusedly at Tenten, who had taken seat upon his stomach, she was grinning stupidly down at him.

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked perplexed, drawing a snicker from Tenten.

"I mean, good match, that was awesome." she said as she slowly removed herself from Naruto's stomach, before reaching down and grasping his hand, pulling him up onto his feet.

"Where's Hanabi?" asked Naruto as he glanced around, he only caught a small sight of the frown that appeared upon Tenten's lips.

"She went to freshen up." the weapons expert said with a shrug. "Shall we watch the match?" she asked with a smile.

Naruto nodded and turned to face the arena floor, just in time to see Sasuke release a burst of flame towards the incoming mass of bugs. Surprisingly the flames didn't stop once they consumed the first section of bugs, instead it continued on and set alight the entire stream of bugs. Shino was able to break off the stream in time to save the rest of his allies, but the damage had already been done, the floor was littered with the crisp corpses of insects. Although it wasn't obvious just by looking at Sasuke, some of those present could see the amount of pain having used the technique had caused him. Naruto and Hinata in particular had a large inkling to what caused the pain. Shino seemed to be weighing up the odds, and after a few minutes off a silent stand-off Shino spoke.

"I concede, the mortality rate is currently too high as opposed to the rewards of succeeding." he said quietly, as he spoke the hordes of insects raced back towards him, and vanished up his sleeves.

Naruto snorted lightly but nodded. Shino wouldn't willingly fight someone if there was a high chance that his bugs would be destroyed. While the Aburame had a symbiotic relationship with their bugs, they also, as time went on become

a cohesive unit, to the point when there ceased to be a difference between them, as such they wouldn't willingly let 'themselves' die unnecessary.

"Where is she?" Naruto demanded to know as he glanced around the balcony.

"Don't worry about her, she'll be back eventually." Tenten said with a wave of her hand, dismissing Naruto's worries. "It isn't like her match is up next." she finished as she stared down at the referee.

"The next match is Hyuuga Hanabi versus Haruno Sakura." the examiner said through a cough as his eyes met the board up on the wall.

"Well what are the chances of that?" Tenten said with a hesitant laugh, but Naruto wasn't listening anymore, his eyes were searching the balcony for Sakura.

After a few seconds Naruto finally found her, sitting next to a sulking Kiba and a Stoic Shino.

"Sakura." called out Naruto as he moved towards them.

Sakura perked up slightly at hearing her name called, but the moment her eyes landed upon Naruto she deflated again.

"What do you want?" she asked irritably.

"Can you do me a favour? Last at least sixteen seconds against Hanabi?"

"Why?" asked Sakura dumbly as she regarded Naruto.

"Well you see-" Naruto began.

"You shouldn't force people to fight against their own will, Naruto-kun." said a cold and collected voice behind Naruto, causing him to seize up.

"A-ah, you're back Hanabi-chan." Naruto said nervously, before his hand found it's way to the back of his head and began to scratch it.

"Like I'd give up now, I'm going to beat you and advance to the third exam!" exclaimed Sakura as she stood up in front of Hanabi.

Hanabi stared coolly into Sakura's emerald eyes, before speaking.

"I am going to kill you." she said calmly.

Sakura recoiled like she had been slapped, everyone around them stared in shock at the casual way Hanabi had made her declaration, except Naruto, who seemed to become frantic.

"Don't listen to her, just go out and do your best!" Naruto said to Sakura encouragingly, which seemed to cause Sakura to further doubt herself.

"Once I kill you, I'm going to kill your family, and then every person you hold in your heart." she continued, completely ignoring Naruto's attempts to calm Sakura down.

Sakura's eyes widened and she glanced back and forth from Hanabi to Naruto.

"He just wants you dead to." Hanabi said as she glanced to Naruto.

Naruto instantly shook his head.

"No, I just want you to try your best and last as long as you can, that way you have a better chance at becoming a Chuunin!" Naruto said with semi-absolute resolve, even going as far as to mimic Gai and Lee's thumbs up, of-course a toned down version

"You don't seem like the kind of person to use Ninjutsu or Taijutsu." stated Hanabi as she regarded Sakura. "Do you use Genjutsu? If you do it'll be even more fun for me." she said, before her lips twitched upwards slightly.

Sakura didn't see what was funny. With Hanabi's assurances of death, and Naruto _actually_ telling her to fight the madwoman, she was hard pressed to not be afraid.

"I-I give up." Sakura said shakily, much to Kiba's and Naruto's dismay.

"You can't be serious?!" Naruto and Kiba all but yelled, before glancing at each other and then back to Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, you can't just let some black-haired freak tell you what to do, and you shouldn't let Naruto freak you out!" Kiba growled out.

"You can't just _give up_ it isn't fair to m-you, it isn't fair to _you,_ you need to try!" exclaimed Naruto angrily.

"She's made up her mind." Hanabi said with a small smile as she turned away from Sakura and to Naruto, who seemed to darken. "I believe that I win."

"Thanks a lot." snapped Naruto at Sakura before he stormed off in a huff.

Sakura, and everyone around them seemed to be confused why Naruto had become angry, and why Hanabi had said such an obvious thing, of course she would win the match if Sakura surrendered.

"What was that about?" Tenten asked confusedly as she glance between Naruto's retreating back, and Hanabi.

"Just a little wager between myself and Naruto." Hanabi said as she also watched Naruto each the other side of the arena balcony, to where a certain other black haired girl was residing. A relatively unfelt emotion began to surface within Hanabi, one she quickly identified as jealousy.

"Akado Yoroi and Tenten, please come down."

Tenten frowned and glanced to the arena floor.

"Give me a few seconds and I'll be back." she murmured, before turning around and walking down to the arena floor.

Five minutes later and Tenten came flouncing back up the balcony, below the field was littered with weapons, and a few medic's were removing a metal ridden body, the body of Tenten's opponent.

"Where were we?" asked Tenten.

Hanabi snorted lightly.

"It isn't important." she stated coldly.

Tenten took note of the fact that she was still glaring at the girl from sound. She knew that, if she was in Hanabi's position she'd be pretty pissed that someone from another village was spending more time with her friend then she was. As it was, she WAS annoyed, just not to the extent that Hanabi was, it seemed.

"Rock lee, and Kinuta Dosu." called the brown haired referee.

The call of his name had Lee gushing out with enthusiasm, so much that Hinata found it hard to approach him.

"Lee-san." Hinata called out quietly.

To her immense surprise, Lee quietened down immediately and listened intently, but she could see still the excitement underneath his enforced calm.

"You should.. Be careful, that guy can attack without touching you, but Naruto did something to his arm and I don't think he can use it well, the longer you fight the higher the chance he'll get you with his invisible attacks, so you should beat him quickly." she said slowly, glancing alternatively between Lee and Naruto alternatively. The more she glanced to Naruto the more and more coherent her voice became.

Tenten snickered lightly. It seemed that the Hyuuga girl's had the same feeling where a certain blonde haired boy was involved.

"If you're sure, then I will explode my youthful ways in an instant to win this battle!" exclaimed Lee.

A second after the match had begun, it ended, with Dosu implanted in a wall.

Across the arena Naruto scowled, even Lee had managed to win his fight faster then him. He was slightly consoled that his match hadn't lasted the longest

"You know, Gaara, his sister, your other team-mate and the other Genin from my village are left, it look's like the odds are against him." mused Naruto as he glanced across to the other Genin.

Kin shrugged.

"He doesn't matter, or he won't if everything works out." she said slyly as she moved closer to Naruto and wrapped her arms around his.

"Do you really have to do that?" asked Naruto annoyed, the annoyance increased as Kin grinned bemusedly.

"What ever do you mean Uzumaki-san?" Kin asked before letting out a soft laugh and detaching from Naruto.

"If I didn't know you were only doing this for show I'd be offended you know." Naruto said as he turned his gaze away from Kin.

"Yeah, but it's funny to make those girl's over there jealous." Kin said deviously, before smiling innocently, a disturbing combination.

"Those girls?" echoed Naruto as he glanced over to where Kin's gaze had wandered momentarily.

He was surprised to find Hinata, Hanabi, Tenten and least shockingly Ino glaring over at them.

"Those two with the white eyes seem to like you quite a bit, the girl who likes to play with sharp stuff doesn't as much, I don't think, at least not in the way those two do. The blonde may just be glaring at me for doing what I did to her, but I think she may kind of dislike you to now." Kin said in a conversational tone as she glanced down at the arena.

A small wince escaped Kin as she watched Gaara crush her team-mate Zaku into a bloody mist. She felt a small amount of pity for him, but it was quickly squelched. With her team-mate's death, and consequential loss, it left her, and her alone in the competition.

"My condolences." Naruto said to Kin.

Another laugh escaped kin as she regarded the blonde boy next to her.

"You don't really mean that, but thank you anyway." she said with a smile.

"Only two people left, the girl from sand and another weirdo from your village." Kin said as she glanced over to the opposite side of the arena again.

"At first I didn't recognise those two…" Naruto mumbled "But I did recognise the guy's name."

"You know him?" asked Kin as she arched her eyebrow.

Naruto nodded.

"I used to train with them." he said as he stared across the arena at the second Genin from Kabuto's team, or rather, his former tag-along team.

"You're on your second team?" Kin asked, it was a surprise to hear, but not entirely impossible, after all, the boy before her was impossibly strong for a supposed rookie.

"Oh look, they're starting the final round." Kin said airily before pointing down to the ground level, where Temari was already standing, tapping her foot on the ground irritated. It didn't take much longer for her opponent to come down to the arena floor.

It didn't take long after _that_ for him to be beaten to submission by the wind's Temari was able to generate via her fan.

Naruto was honestly shocked at the amount of power that Temari was able to generate with the winds. It had far more power than his **Guraundozero Boufu**, and had a wider range. From her words, it wasn't even as powerful as it could have been, she had only revealed two of the 'stars' Naruto could only imagine the power that would be unleashed with the third.

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked suddenly.

He had not seen Sasuke since the end of his match, now that he thought about it, which was disconcerting.

"Did you think I'd forget about what you said?" whispered a voice into his ear causing him to seize up slightly.

A hand dropped down upon his shoulder and squeezed it tightly.

"We need to have a little chat, Uzumaki-kun."

* * *

**The plot thickens! insert evil laughter. I hope this was satisfactory, and that you all enjoyed it.**


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